Girls Rugby Sweeps China Cup Competition
The results of SASPX’s girl’s rugby team last weekend at China Cup augur hopeful prospects for APAC in the coming two weeks. On the field of HKIS, the girls displayed absolute superiority by winning 51-7 against SASPD, 21-10 and 21-7 against HKIS, the latter score being the final match that yielded them, for the fourth year in a row, the China Cup title.
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The one-sided results lend to the strength of this year’s team, as most players were retained from the previous year’s APAC-winning squad. Ashley Tang, a senior on the team, said that “in [her] four years of playing rugby, this is the most united, supportive, and energetic team that [she] has been on.” Their China Cup performance attests to their robustness.
“This weekend was a great opportunity for us to improve our team chemistry and showcase what we’ve been practicing,” said Ashley.
Though they may have had a smooth ride last weekend, the team is under pressure to take home the APAC trophy, which will be hosted on the home field at SAS. For almost half the team including Ashley, it will be their final tournament before they graduate. If they win, it will also be their fourth consecutive APAC title (4-peat), which only adds more to its significance.
“It is bittersweet to play my last rugby tournament especially in front of a home crowd,” said Ashley. “I’m excited for the tournament ahead and hopefully we’ll end the season as 4-peat APAC champions.”
Leonard Lee
Boys Rugby Finish as China Cup Runner-Ups, but Optimistic for APAC
The SASPX boy’s rugby team placed second of three teams last weekend at HKIS. Despite triumphing over SASPD 48-0, the team suffered two defeats against the home team HKIS 48-5. China Cup, however, is known as the first major trial for teams to accurate gauge their strengths and weaknesses. For the SASPX boys, the event evinced their vulnerabilities, and informed them of their status to better prepare for APAC, which will be hosted at home in two weeks. One of the players on the team, Leo Yoo, was afflicted with a serious injury and will not be returning to the field in this season.
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| (photo courtesy of Activities Council) |
Wesley Chiu, the team’s captain, commented that they were “a little depressed by the results,” but are “generally optimistic.” HKIS has historically always been a difficult matchup for SASPX, but there were a number of noticeable and amendable weaknesses that Wesley hopes the team can fix before APAC.
“I remember getting smashed by HK in China Cup last year as well,” said Wesley. “They have a very different playing style this year and we couldn’t keep up with the intensity of their plays. I think it’s a stamina problem more than a skill problem. We will definitely be fixing that with more conditioning training.”
The team has also evolved significantly since the previous year. They have transformed from a playmaker-reliant team, into one that is more cohesive and better at creating openings for teammates.
“Losing players like Miles and Ben is incredibly hard to cope with,” remarks Wesley. “But to a certain extent, we no longer have superstars, which enables us to play more like a team and not rely on individual talents.”
Their attachment and friendship as a team is also significant to their chemistry. Many of the players have played together for multiple years and enjoy training with each other.
“The strength of the team lies in that anyone can lead and anyone can pick the team up. Probably because we have eleven seniors in our squad of sixteen, we have a really tight team dynamic.”
The team, however, is confident that they will achieve better results at APAC, especially since they are playing at home.
“We have a decent chance of making APAC finals this year,” said Wesley, “and we hope to beat HKIS there.”
Leo Yoo, a sophomore on the team who is known for his entertainment and antics, suffered a season-ending shin injury during the match against HKIS His teammates all offered their greatest condolences, as according to Wesley, “his bravery and commitment to the sport was felt dearly by all players. It was heartbreaking to see Leo go out like that.” Leo’s absence on the field will be noticed, but Wesley hopes that it will not hinder their game by too much.
Leonard Lee
Baseball Wins China Cup Against ISB
Puxi's Varsity Baseball did spectacularly at China Cup, taking home the championship and a reenergized attitude for APAC. Although HKIS did not compete due to weather conditions, PX played ISB twice and two adult teams.
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| (photo courtesy of Activities Council) |
Our Eagles won our first game against ISB 5-1 with catcher Nolan Young hitting a grand slam. The continued and final victories of the team built up our boys' spirits and confidence.
"We had some major contributions from players we hadn't seen show up before", says pitcher Carter Mott, "although this was our first china cup championship in eleven years, we as a team still feel we have a long way to progress".
The theme for this China Cup seems to be growth, especially as our team grows in group cohesion, technical skill, and confidence on and off the diamond. John Park 2nd baseman speaks of the team's growth here, "If we are focused, there are no teams that can defeat us. Our baseball team is practicing hard preparing for the APAC Championship".
China Cup has been a testament to the explosive improvements our boys have made this year and their expected domination this APAC.
Eddy Xu
Varsity Tennis Finishes Second in a Riveting Finale, JV Tennis Places First
Over the weekend of September 14-15, the SAS tennis team delivered an impressive performance at China Cup, held at the International School of Beijing this year. The girl’s and boy’s JV tennis teams placed first overall, while the varsity teams both finished strong in second place.
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| (photo courtesy of Activities Council) |
Senior Nick Tan, co-captain of the boys’ team, is proud of his team’s performance, though disappointed by the close margin by which the varsity boys could have won: “We came out second, losing by 1 point to ISB, but it was definitely a tournament that we could have finished off first.”
Tan and his co-captain senior Edward Chen delivered a standout doubles performance at the match, winning two matches against the Western Academy of Beijing and ISB by 8-1 and 8-2 respectively.
“I was very proud of our communication and pairing during these matches,” emphasizes Tan. Tan also cites Chen’s “incredible” singles performance, with multiple 6-0, 6-1, and 6-2 wins. Other highlights on the boys’ team included freshman Ethan Wang’s 6-3 singles win against ISB, and senior Matt Song and sophomore Tony Seol’s doubles matches.
The girl’s tennis team “faced some pretty tough opponents this year”, according to co-captain senior Livia Zhu. Nevertheless, Zhu is quite satisfied with her team’s performance, especially the JV players, who “all did really well” despite many of them being new to the competition. Senior co-captain Annika Wang agrees: “Although the outcome wasn’t as great as we hoped it would be, we were so supportive of each other, which was really great to see.”
Zhu and her doubles partner sophomore Tania Tan played a strong match against the WAB doubles 1 players. “We were able to come back from being down 4-7…but unfortunately lost in the tiebreaker,” laments Zhu. She and Wang also commend Tania’s “strong” singles performance, most notably the close match that Tania won against WAB on a tiebreaker.
With APAC coming up in less than a month, the entire team is working harder than ever to improve their performance. Tan, who has been playing doubles with his older brother Tim Tan “for as long as I can remember”, is working hard to ensure that the doubles teams are “strong in tactic and strategy.” Meanwhile, Zhu and Wang are optimistic that the girls will perform well in the coming weeks; the stakes are high, since they are defending their championship from last year’s Super APAC.
“Even though half of our old team is gone, we have high hopes,” says Wang. “Although we didn’t do as well as we could have at China Cup, I think it’s just going to push us to perform better at APAC.”
Nevertheless, the players are determined to work hard and keep a positive mindset no matter what the results turn out to be. Tan sums it up: “As long as we do our best, not give away easy points, and have fun as a team, I know that we will all be satisfied with the results we get.”
Lydia Ying
CHINA CUP VOLLEYBALL
Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys volleyball finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the tournament hosted at home; the school spirit was obvious, as the relentless crowds and energy from the audience had a major presence throughout both days. Both teams faced off against the ISB Dragons for the finals, and the Varsity Girls finished in 1st place with an undefeated record, while the Varsity Boys finished 2nd after a loss in the championship game.
VARSITY GIRLS VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS COMPETITION AND FINISHES FIRST
The Varsity Girls Volleyball team faced off against ISB for a 5-set championship game. However, the road to the championship was more difficult than imagined.
After the round robin games, Puxi finished at the top seed after winning all matches, and proceeded to face off against the 4th-seeded Pudong team in the semifinals. What seemed like an easy win ended up being the greatest challenge they had in the tournament, as they found themselves down after Pudong won the first set.
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| (photo courtesy of Activities Council) |
“To be honest, I feel that everyone on the team could’ve played better during that game, we were too relaxed because we assumed it’d be a slightly easier game.” Katrina Lau commented. “They were playing better than they had before, which came as a shock.”
However, the team managed to claw back for a comeback win and earn the chance to compete in the finals. ISB was the 2nd-seed from the round robin games, and won against HKIS in the semifinals to earn their spot in the championships.
Puxi started out the first set with the lead. After earning their fifth point, the gap between the two teams only became larger. Strong serving performances contributed to Puxi’s 15-4 run that followed, with the team reaching their 20th point before ISB even reached double digits. The set was then quickly closed out, and Puxi wins the first set 25-13.
Puxi started the second set with the lead again, leading by five points after earning their eighth point. However, a strong serving performance (3 consecutive aces) allowed ISB to climb back to tie the score. Two teams then went back and forth in taking the lead until Puxi earned their 11th point, in which Puxi then proceeded to stretch the lead to 9 points after earning the 21st point. ISB’s errors on the offensive side costed them opportunities to cut the lead, and Puxi concludes the second set by winning 25-17.
In the final set, Puxi built an early lead that ISB couldn’t catch up on. Even though Puxi was just leading by four after initially reaching double digits, ISB saw a slim chance of a comeback, as they managed to cut the lead to 2 for the score to be 13-11. However, Puxi proceeded to stretch the lead, and led by 7 after 20th point. Puxi concluded the game by winning the last set 25-18, and came out triumphant after this tournament win at home.
“As a team, we learned to communicate a lot better as China Cup went on. We were a lot more vocal and encouraging towards each other on the court, which really helped lift everyone’s spirits up if we were down a few points.” Katrina also said of the team’s improvement over the course of the tournament. “Through China Cup, our team grew a lot closer because we were so supportive of each other on and off the volleyball court; we knew that we could have each other’s backs.”
Despite the win at China Cup, the team’s ultimate goal is set on APAC.
“I noticed that as a team, if we got off to a bad start, it would be really hard for us to pick it back up and we’d start losing more and more points.” Katrina said about future improvements for the team. “This is something that needs more work because when it comes down to crucial moments in games like the APAC finals, we will have to learn to regain our confidence quicker if we are losing.”
“I think we’ve grown so much as a team and we’re ready to take APAC head on and show our competitors who’s best. APAC will be the toughest tournament yet but I believe that our hard work, dedication, and mutual love for this sport will show and we’ll come out on top.” Katrina concluded.
VARSITY BOYS VOLLEYBALL FINISH AS RUNNER-UPS IN CHINA CUP
The Varsity Boys Volleyball also faced off against the ISB Dragons in the championships. ISB was undefeated, while Puxi’s only loss was against them.
In the first set, ISB started with a small lead, but held it throughout the entire set. ISB started gaining momentum after their 14th point, and extended their lead to 6 points, putting the score at 14-20. However, ISB’s offensive errors and Puxi’s attacks allowed them to claw back to cut the lead to 2 to put the score at 19-21. However, ISB managed to earn 2 more points to put the score at 19-23. Puxi made an effort for a comeback, putting the score at 22-24 before ISB earned their last point to win the set.
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| (photo courtesy of Activities Council) |
Puxi started the second set with a slim lead of 2 points, but ISB quickly climbed back to take the lead. ISB only had a lead of 3 points after earning their 12th point, but proceeded to earn 5 points consecutively to extend the lead to 8. Puxi was only able to score 2 more points while ISB closed the set out.
The third set started similarly to the second set, with Puxi earning 2 points before ISB taking a slim lead. The score was tied after Puxi earned its 12th point, but ISB continued to score 10 points consecutively to significantly stretch the lead. Puxi only scored 3 more points before ISB closed out the game by winning the set 25-14.
Even though the 2nd place finish was disappointing for the team, there were still notable moments in the tournament. In both of Puxi’s meetings against Pudong, the team found themselves down by a set. However, Puxi managed to claw back for 2-1 comeback wins to earn a place to compete in the finals.
Sports are often regarded as a physical activity, but Coach Matthew Zeman emphasized on the significance of the mental component when asked about future areas of growth for the team.
“We unfolded like a house of cards against ISB.” Coach Zeman said of the loss. “We need to learn how to not let our nerves overcome our training and to dig deep to find a fighting spirit.”
“We need to learn how to not overthink our performance but to be smart at the same time. Letting your body take over but still being smart is a difficult balance.” Coach Zeman said in more specific terms.
When asked about the most significant area of improvement for the team, Coach Zeman refers to a more abstract concept that is unexpected— the will to win.
“What the team is missing the most are people who crave greatness.” Coach Zeman explains. “It is easy to have good character in winning; however, the true test of character comes in defeat in times when things go bad and south.
“We need someone that will step up and respond to the challenge in those crucial moments and say, ‘I want to be elite’.”
Despite the disappointing finish, the team has its eyes set on APAC. “We’re not concerned; we will meet ISB again.” Said Coach Zeman. “Hopefully we learned a lot in defeat and makes sure we step up to the plate next time we’re in that situation.”
Alice Qin
Cross Country Girls Places Four, Boys Place Fifth
On September 13th, 2018, the SAS Cross Country team travelled to Thailand to participate in their biggest meet yet of the season. The race was hosted in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, and was organised by the International School of Bangkok. The meet is one of the biggest XC races in Asia, with a total of 14 different schools and around 200 runners participating from both IASIS and APAC. Both boys and girls team did well, placing 5th and 4th out of the 13 schools, respectively. Notable individual placings include Renee Pearce finishing in 6th place, and Evian Chai in 7th.
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| (photo courtesy of Activities Council) |
However, more so than their results, the Cross Country team should be commended for their perseverance and grit. Due to heavy rainfall, the hilly course through the fields of Kanchanaburi was incredibly muddy, with co-captain Renee Pearce commenting that "it was more like a slip and slide in the mud". Several runners took multiple tumbles into the mud during their race, and one even lost his shoe! In fact, Coach Adams commented that her most vivid memory of Thailand will always be Rudy yelling “COACH-take my shoe!” at the 3k mark. However, all the runners persisted, with co-captain Evian Chai commenting that "everyone gave everything they had despite the mud, resulting in a race that everyone can look back on with both pride and laughter.”
Now, with this experience under their belt, the XC team is in a great place mentally and physically to take on APAC, which will take place in October. Renee Pearce stated that “I have a lot of faith that the team will do well at APAC, because we performed so well [at this meet] despite the odds”. The Cross Country team will surely continue to train hard in preparation for this big race, and will give it their all once again come October.
Evian Chai
