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Laguna Beach’s boys water polo team is headed back to the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs after a record-setting regular season.
After winning a school-record 24 matches, the Breakers (24-6) received the eighth and final spot in the section’s premier division Friday when the playoff pairings were announced.
Laguna Beach edged Loyola for the No. 8 seed with a Massey power rating of 7.882. Loyola had a 7.831 rating.
The Breakers begin group play at defending champion and No. 1 seed Newport Harbor (25-1) on Wednesday.
“We are excited,” Laguna Beach coach Camron Hauer said. “We wanted to compete against the best and now we have the opportunity to do that.”
“We have been getting better all season,” added coach, whose team won the Pacific Coast League. “We are peaking at the right time.”
Laguna Beach rides a school-record 14-match winning streak into its first appearance in the Open Division since 2021.
Last season, Laguna Beach reached the Division 1 quarterfinals. The Breakers were Division 1 runner-ups in 2023.
Newport Harbor and Laguna Beach will be joined in Group A by No. 4 Oaks Christian and No. 5 JSerra.
Group B features No. 2 Santa Margarita, No. 3 Corona del Mar, No. 6 Mira Costa and No. 7 Long Beach Wilson.
The Open Division semifinals will be played Nov. 12 at Woollett Aquatics Center with the finals set for Nov. 15 at Mt. SAC.
Mater Dei is seeded third in Division 1 while Crean Lutheran is fourth in Division 2.