Eight Metro Conference teams qualified to compete in this year’s San Diego Section girls water polo playoffs.
Mar Vista earned the No. 15 seed in the Division I field while Mesa League champion Bonita Vista earned the No. 5 seed in the Division II field along with Eastlake (eighth seed) and Hilltop (10th seed).
Four teams received entry into the Division III field: South Bay League champion Mater Dei Catholic (No. 4 seed), Otay Ranch (seventh seed), Chula Vista (11th seed) and San Ysidro (12th seed).
First-round play started Tuesday in both the Division II and Division III fields. Of the seven Metro teams in action, three advanced to quarterfinal-round play.
Teams advancing included Bonita Vista and Eastlake in Division II and Otay Ranch in Division III.
•Bonita Vista (22-5) defeated 12th-seeded Mt. Carmel (12-18) by a score of 10-3 to meet fourth-seeded Poway (15-10) in Friday’s next round.
•Eastlake (15-14) defeated ninth-seeded La Costa Canyon (11-17) by a score of 7-3 to meet top-seeded Del Norte (22-6) in Friday’s quarterfinals.
•Otay Ranch (9-17) edged 10th-seeded Oceanside (6-17) by a score of 5-4 to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals against second-seeded Classical Academy (14-10).
In other games on Tuesday:
•Seventh-seeded Grossmont (19-10) defeated Hilltop (17-9) by a score of 13-9.
•Fifth-seeded Escondido (16-9) defeated San Ysidro (9-21) by a score of 14-2 to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal-round against Mater Dei Catholic (19-7)
•Sixth-seeded San Marcos (10-14) eliminated Chula Vista (10-10) by a score of 7-4.
In Wednesday’s Division I opening round, fifth-seeded Rancho Buena Vista (16-10) topped Mar Vista (10-20) by a score of 10-6.
Semifinal-round playoffs continue Monday, Feb. 20 (Division III), Tuesday, Feb. 21 (Division I), Wednesday, Feb. 22 (Open Division) and Thursday, Feb. 23 (Division II), at La Jolla High School.
A championship quadruple-header is scheduled Feb. 25 (Division II at 2:30 p.m., Division III at 12:15 p.m.) at La Jolla High School.
Wet shots
Five of the six teams in the Mesa League qualified for this year’s playoffs while three of the six teams in the South Bay League did so.
Bonita Vista captured this year’s Mesa League championship with an undefeated 10-0 league record, followed by Eastlake (7-3), Hilltop (6-4), Mar Vista (4-6), Otay Ranch (2-8) and Olympian (1-9).
Mater Dei Catholic claimed this year’s South Bay League title with an undefeated 10-0 league record, followed by San Ysidro (7-3), Chula Vista (6-4), Montgomery (5-5), Southwest (2-8) and Castle Park (0-10).
Shyla Toledo led Mar Vista in season scoring with 99 points (85 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games while Mater Dei Catholic’s Jenna Kruse had racked up 132 points (108 goals, 24 assists) in 23 games.
