Masters water polo tournament to end

The CIF Southern Section Council voted unanimously Tuesday to end the Masters water polo tournament after a three-year run.

The decision, which came at a council meeting in Long Beach, came after the boys’ and girls’ water polo advisory committees came up with a proposal to end the tournament.

The Masters tournament was seen as an opportunity for the best teams in the Southern Section “” regardless of division “” to play in a tournament after CIF finals. It was hoped that it would be a precursor to a state championship tournament.

However, other areas of California hold water polo at different times in the high school sports season, which made a state tournament difficult. It was also hard for many Southern Section teams to have much interest after gearing up for CIF finals the week before.

The Laguna Beach girls were a mainstay in the tournament. They were runners-up to Foothill in 2007 and captured third place at the most recent Masters tournament in March.

“” Matt Szabo