Tennis postseason picture starting to come into focus

Is it time for the postseason? Already?

Absolutely.

Region tournaments in girls and boys tennis start Monday and Tuesday, respectively, and with one more day left in the regular season, there’s still plenty of scrambling taking place for playoff seeds.

Here’s a breakdown of what has been and what still has to be determined.

Keep in mind that absolutely none of this is official until so declared by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association. The NIAA is expected to announce playoff seedings and matchups Friday.

BOYS

In the Sunrise region, the Southeast League’s schedule is complete, and playoff spots have been decided.

Coronado, which breezed through the regular season, surrendering a total of only 19 points in league play, is the No. 1 seed, followed by Foothill (7-1), Liberty (6-2) and Green Valley (5-3). Liberty is in the playoffs for the first time in school history.

In the Northeast, Eldorado secured the top spot with its win over Valley on Wednesday. The Sundevils (7-0) still have a match remaining but would win a potential tiebreaker with Las Vegas (6-1).

As long as they beat Valley on Thursday or Eldorado beats Rancho, the Wildcats will be the No. 2 seed.

The race for No. 3 may be decided by a coin flip.

Both Rancho and Chaparral have locked up a playoff spot, but if the Rams lose to Eldorado on Thursday, Rancho and the Cowboys will be locked in an unbreakable tie for third (the teams tied 9-9 in their lone meeting).

NIAA rules say the only way to break the tie is with someone calling “heads” or “tails” on a coin flip. That would likely take place via conference call on Friday.

In the Sunset Region, Palo Verde has claimed its usual spot atop the Northwest League at 8-0.

Centennial (7-1) has earned the No. 2 seed, followed by The Meadows (6-2) and Cimarron (6-3). Any potential tiebreakers are easily determined. Each team lost to all those above it in the standings.

The Southwest League is a little more dicey with Bonanza, Clark and Bishop Gorman headed for an apparent three-way tie at 7-1.

The teams split head-to-head matchups with each going 1-1. Bonanza beat Gorman and lost to Clark. Gorman beat Clark.

The next tiebreaker is points in the head-to-head matchups.

Gorman beat Clark, 13-5 and lost to Bonanza, 7-11. Gorman has 20 points and allowed 16.

Bonanza beat Gorman, 11-7 and lost to Clark, 7-11. Bonanza has 18 points and allowed 18.

Clark beat Bonanza, 11-7 and lost to Gorman, 5-13. Clark has 16 points and allowed 20.

Gorman would win the tiebreaker and the No. 1 seed. Second place would go to Clark as NIAA rules dictate sending both Bonanza and Clark back to a two-way tie, which is decided by Clark’s win over the Bengals.

Bonanza would be the No. 3 seed.

Durango (4-3) will wrap up the No. 4 seed when it shows up for a win by forfeit against Western on Thursday. Sierra Vista (4-3) could tie Durango at 5-3, but lost to the Trailblazers and would lose the tie-breaker.

GIRLS

In the Sunrise, the Southeast League’s spots have been decided with Liberty (8-0) earning its first No. 1 seed followed by Coronado (7-1), Silverado (6-2) and Green Valley (5-3).

Canyon Springs (7-0) will be the Northeast’s top seed. The Pioneers have another win coming their way Thursday in a match with Sunrise Mountain, which will forfeit due to a lack of the required number of players.

Las Vegas (6-1) and Valley (6-1) meet Thursday with that winner earning the No. 2 seed and the loser relegated to the No. 3 slot.

Eldorado (4-3) and Rancho (4-3) will duke it out Thursday for the No. 4 spot.

It’s not quite as simple in the Sunset Region.

The Meadows (8-0) has locked up the Northwest’s top seed by virtue of its win over Palo Verde (7-1) on Tuesday. The Panthers are guaranteed the No. 2 spot.

Shadow Ridge (6-2) has the inside track on the No. 3 seed and would clinch it with a win over Centennial (5-3) on Thursday. Faith Lutheran (5-3) is also in the discussion, and there is a strong possibility of a three-way tie.

Faith Lutheran would be favored to beat Legacy on Thursday and would improve to 6-3. If Shadow Ridge beats Centennial, the Mustangs will be the No. 3 seed and Faith Lutheran the No. 4.

If Centennial wins (and assuming Faith Lutheran wins), three teams would be 6-3 and will have split meetings.

The tiebreaker would go to points and would depend on the score of the Centennial match.

In short, Centennial would need to win 11-7 or better to earn the No. 3 seed, which would then give Shadow Ridge the No. 4 seed.

A 10-8 Centennial win would create an unbreakable three-way tie, and that would require additional play-in matches between the teams to decide. It’s a mess. Let’s hope it’s resolved some other way.

A 10-9 Centennial win gives Shadow Ridge the No. 3 seed and Faith the No. 4, leaving Centennial out.

The Southwest isn’t quite as convoluted.

Not surprisingly, Bishop Gorman (7-0) is on top again and has wrapped up the No. 1 seed.

Durango (6-1), which will win via forfeit against Western on Thursday, is the No. 2 seed.

Clark (5-2) has wrapped up the No. 3 seed.

The No. 4 seed will be decided at Desert Oasis on Thursday when the Diamondbacks (4-3) host Spring Valley (4-3). The winner of that match is in the postseason. The loser's season will be over.