SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFF PAIRINGS : Some Surprises Among the Status Quo After Seeding Process : Water polo: El Toro and Corona del Mar are seeded first and second in Division I.

El Toro, which has won four Southern Section water polo titles in five seasons, is the top-seeded team in the Division I playoffs, which begin Friday.

The South Coast League champion Chargers (23-2) have won 18 consecutive playoff games, dating to the 1988 season, and open with a home game against Long Beach Poly (9-14).

Orange County produced all four division champions last season and again is well represented in the draw, released Monday by the Southern Section. Although El Toro is the only team to receive a top-seeded spot, county teams received at least one of the top seedings in each of the divisions. Division I and IV play first-round games Friday, Division II Wednesday and Division III Thursday.

Finals in all divisions are Nov. 24 at Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach.

In Division I:

Corona del Mar (20-3), the Sea View League champion, which won the three tournaments it entered, is seeded second and opens at home Friday against Los Angeles Loyola (15-12). North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (23-2) and Long Beach Wilson (22-4) are seeded third and fourth.

University (17-8), the fourth-place team from the Sea View League, received the only Division I at-large berth and will play at No. 4-seeded Long Beach Wilson (22-4).