Rain, rain go away, we have tennis to play

Not this year, however. The tournament was slated to begin Tuesday, which got washed out with the recent rains that rolled through the Bay Area, pushing first- and second-round matches to Wednesday. But after late-morning showers Wednesday, the tournament was, once again, postponed.

The tournament was set up to accommodate one rain delay. Two? That poses more of a problem. Smith said the tournament finals — singles and doubles — would not be played Saturday and, with Monday’s start of the Central Coast Section team tournament, followed by the CCS individual championships, the PAL championship matches could become one-off matches.

“We probably wouldn’t convene for four matches at Burlingame,” said Smith, referencing the fact the singles and doubles championship and third-place matches are usually played at Burlingame.

“It would be individual matches ad hoc. It’s something we’ll talk about [Thursday]. There are a lot of variables.

“Way back somewhere, we had this [final PAL tournament matches] played on a random Thursday.”

Not only does the tournament crown PAL champions, it also serves as a play-in to the CCS singles and doubles tournament. The PAL finalists are the automatic representatives of the league and playing the tournament to the conclusion is the fairest way to determine that.

Otherwise, the PAL representatives to CCS would be determined by junior ranking and PAL seeding and that’s where things could get messy.

“Ooh. Then we would have a problem,” Smith said. “Then [CCS berth would be determined] by seed (in the PAL tournament) and everyone would lose their minds.”

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Menlo’s Joelle Kim was the highest finisher from San Mateo County schools in the CCS girls’ golf championships held at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey Tuesday.

Kim shot a 7-over 77 to finish in 10th place. In all, five golfers shot 77s, places eighth through 12, with Kim settling in with the top-10 finish.

A pair of Crystal Springs Uplands golfers, Claire Zhong and Olivia Lee, finished one shot back of Kim, two of five golfers to shoot 8-over 78s to claim top-20 finishes at 16th and 17th place, respectively.

PAL champion, Hillsdale’s Ashlyn Johnson, was the top PAL finisher, just missing on a top-20 finish, garnering 21st with a 10-over 80. Carlmont’s Kiana Flores came in with an 87, good for 42nd place, while Aragon’s Sofia was 56th with a round of 91.

Mercy-Burlingame’s Jaylyn Remolona was 60th and teammate Eva Denten 63rd after both shot rounds of 93.

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The CCS water polo pairings were announced Tuesday and, while the teams from Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo School earned high seeds, there was not a lot of love for the teams from the PAL.

The SHP boys, the four-time reigning Open Division champion, earned the top seed in the Open Division, while the SHP girls’ garnered the No. 2 seed behind top-seeded Soquel.

The Menlo boys’ were seeded No. 3 in the Open, while the Menlo girls’ earned the No. 5 seed.

Any hopes of a PAL team winning a CCS title remain a longshot, at best. The Hillsdale boys, which won a share of the Bay Division crown but were the No. 1 qualifier out of the PAL, are seeded No. 8 in Division II and face top-seeded Stevenson in the first round Saturday. The Knights had an overall record of 8-12 which certainly helped depress their seed, but they had to forfeit a couple non-league games they had won after using an ineligible player. If those wins were allowed to stand, Hillsdale probably gets a more favorable first-round matchup.

The other PAL qualifiers, Woodside and Aragon, were given the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds, respectively, in the Division I bracket.

The PAL girls’ teams fared a bit better, but still have a tough row to hoe. Outright Bay Division champion Burlingame was seeded sixth in Division II, while Menlo-Atherton and Woodside were seeded fifth and sixth, respectively, in Division I.

All county teams are involved in first-round matches that begin Saturday. For times and matchups, go to cifccs.org.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117. To report scores or tips, email sports@smdailyjournal.com.