Start the buses. The Inland Empire’s highest-ranked high school girls tennis teams avoided being placed in the elite Open Division bracket when the CIF Southern Section released its playoff pairings Monday morning. That was the good news. On the flip side, however, only one of the six Inland teams that qualified for the Division 1 playoffs will have home-court advantage for Wednesday’s openers. This marks the first season the section used in-season rankings to determine in which playoff division teams are placed. In the past, nearly all league champions were guaranteed a home match in the first round. That is no longer the case. Teams now are slotted into brackets based on their final rankings, and the higher-ranked team hosts in the first round regardless of league placement. Baseline League champ Los Osos was the lucky one among the group. The Grizzlies (13-1) open at home Wednesday afternoon against JSerra (8-7). Los Osos advanced to the section finals in 2022 and 2023 and finished as the Division 1 runner-up each time. The other five Inland teams in the Division 1 field will hit the road Wednesday. Southwestern League champion Great Oak (18-1) plays at Peninsula (10-7). Palomares League champion Claremont (10-1) will travel to Orange Lutheran (13-5), while Palomares League runner-up Bonita (14-2) heads to Mater Dei (7-6). Big VIII League champion King (16-7) plays at San Juan Hills (11-5), while Citrus Belt League champion Redlands (13-5) will make the trip to San Marino (14-0). Arlington got a fortunate break, as well. The Lions finished 40th in the final rankings and could have been the No. 32 seed in the Division 1 bracket. The section instead gave Mira Costa (No. 1 seed in Division 1) a first-round bye, so Arlington (16-2) became the No. 1 seed in the Division 2 bracket. The Ivy League champs also have a bye to start and will host Ambassador League champion Woodcrest Christian (15-0) or Village Christian (12-3) on Friday afternoon. Five other Inland teams received top-four seedings in their respective playoff divisions. Roosevelt and San Dimas are the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, in the Division 3 bracket. Roosevelt (9-8-2) also has an opening-round bye and will host Apple Valley (18-2) or Santa Barbara (19-5) on Friday. Hacienda League champion San Dimas (13-4) hosts La Canada (6-6) in a first-round match Wednesday. Upland (12-9) is the No. 3 seed in the Division 4 bracket and opens at home Wednesday against Hesperia (14-6). Ontario Christian (9-8) is the No. 1 seed in Division 5 and also received a first-round bye. The Knights host Hart (8-12) or Golden Valley (10-8) on Friday. Heritage (9-6) is seeded third in Division 5 and has a bye in the first round. The Patriots host Bishop Montgomery (11-5) or Milken Community (13-4) on Friday. Related Articles High School Sports | IE Varsity’s high school football rankings, Nov. 4 High School Sports | Fullerton girls flag football team outlasts North in Division 4 semifinal High School Sports | Miller girls volleyball team falls to Garden Grove in Division 8 semifinals High School Sports | CIF-SS football playoffs: Centennial on the road for Division 1 opener; Murrieta Valley top seed in Division 2 High School Sports | IE Varsity’s CIF Southern Section playoff scoreboard, Nov. 2 CIF SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS TENNIS PLAYOFFS (Matches scheduled for 2 p.m. Dates, sites and times subject to change) Division 1 Wednesday’s first-round matches Great Oak at Peninsula King at San Juan Hills Claremont at Orange Lutheran Redlands at San Marion Bonita at Mater Dei JSerra at Los Osos Division 2 Wednesday’s first-round matches Village Christian at Woodcrest Christian Rancho Cucamonga at Archer Santiago at Los Alamitos Yucaipa at Crescenta Valley Xavier Prep at Liberty Temecula Valley at Walnut Ayala at Sunny Hills Friday’s second-round match Village Christian or Woodcrest Christian at Arlington Division 3 Wednesday’s first-round matches Valencia at Etiwanda Citrus Hill at Santa Monica La Canada at San Dimas West Ranch at Linfield Christian Alta Loma at St. Margaret’s West Torrance at North Friday’s second-round match Apple Valley or Santa Barbara at Roosevelt Division 4 Wednesday’s first-round matches Patriot at Vista Murrieta Mayfair at Temescal Canyon Hesperia at Upland Pacifica Christian-Orange County at Webb Culver City at Chino Hills Montclair at Keppel Citrus Valley at Oak Hills Indio at Paloma Valley Division 5 Wednesday’s first-round matches Chino at Oakwood Gahr at Chaffey Rim of the World at AGBU-Canoga Park Garey at Ramona Friday’s second-round matches Hart or Golden Valley at Ontario Christian Bishop Montgomery or Milken Community at Heritage Division 6 Wednesday’s first-round matches Shadow Hills at Summit Rancho Verde at Indian Springs Los Amigos at Norte Vista Thacher at Elsinore Notre Dame at Schurr San Bernardino at Ventura Division 7 Wednesday’s first-round matches Hueneme at Banning Nordhoff at Orange Vista Carter at Paramount La Puente at San Jacinto Moreno Valley at Arroyo Valley Knight at Jurupa Hills