China Cup champions again!
From September 23 to 24, Shanghai American School, along with many other international schools, kicked off season one tournament play with a bang at China Cup. Founded in 2000, China Cup is a mid-season tournament held between varsity and junior varsity teams from Shanghai American School (SASPX), Shanghai American School Pudong (SASPD), the International School of Beijing (ISB), Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), and Hong Kong International School (HKIS).
Rugby
Up in Hong Kong, the skies were clear at HKIS for the rugby championships. Hong Kong had also recently replaced their field, diffusing an aura of excitement. All SASPX teams entered the competition with great confidence, having thrived in friendly matches previous to the competition. And as expected, SASPX’s rugby teams put in an excellent performance.
After narrowly missing out on the finals against SASPD, SASPX varsity boys faced ISB’s inexperienced side. Despite scoring two early tries, SASPX’s varsity boys were victims to a late ISB surge defeating SASPX 15-10. Although the varsity side came in at a disappointing 4th place, the varsity boys nevertheless showed resilience and determination, which they will carry to their upcoming APAC competition in mid-October. HKIS finished first triumphing SASPD by over 5 tries.
SASPX’s JV boys, on the other hand, successfully reached the finals defeating both ISB and SASPD in the group stage. Contrary to the early success, HKIS thrashed SASPX 47-0. The score, however, did not reflect the amount of effort and resistance the SASPX JV boys showed in the championship match. A runner-up position, in fact, is one of the best results in the past few years. The JV side will bring this confidence into their next major tournament, SISAC, held on October 15. SASPD finished third while ISB finished last.
To appease the disappointing performance from the boy’s teams, SASPX’s girls’ varsity team successfully retained the cup. In an epic final against a very strong ISB team, SASPX was able to hold on to their 2-point lead at the dying moments of the game. ISB’s girls threw in everything they had making numerous attempts to win the try in the final 3 minutes of the 10-minute match, but SASPX’s iron defense was too much for the dragons. The varsity girls will be confident to retain their APAC championship as well with a trophy already in their pockets. SASPD defeated HKIS to claim third place in the tournament.
The JV girls also showed promising performances in the early stages snatching two victories in their first two matches against ISB and HKIS. However, a heavy loss against SASPD prevented them from reaching the finals by goal difference. In their 3rd and 4th place match, they were very unfortunate to lose to a side they beat in a dominating fashion in the group stage, ISB. The girl’s JV side will, nevertheless, persist and pick up their pace in the upcoming SISAC tournament.
Volleyball
Hosted by SASPX, the volleyball championships were difficult to predict. All four teams that came to the tournament had very talented sides with the urge to lift the trophy. The SAS volleyball team found great success in this year’s China Cup as two of their four teams finished as champions. JV boys and Varsity girls both won in the finals defeating WAB and ISB respectively. Both the JV girls and Varsity boys finished in third place. They will carry this momentum in their upcoming tournaments as they hope to win more gold.
Baseball
Playing at home, both SASPX’s varsity and JV side finished in 2nd place as HKIS’ varsity and JV side took the trophy home. SASPX’s varsity side narrowly edged our HKIS, then went on to score convincing victories over ISB and SASPD. In the final, SASPX met HKIS again for the China Cup. This time, however, the varsity side lost due to an excellent performance from the HKIS side. The SASPX side will definitely seek revenge in their upcoming APAC tournament.
All four tennis championship trophies stayed with the hosts, HKIS. The varsity boys, with star players Jackie Tang and Arthur Chau, ended with a score of 18, securing a clear victory against SASPX (6) and ISB (3). The varsity girls did equally well, led by Sabrina Woll and Jacinta Chen. Their score of 17 put them ahead of SASPX (10) and ISB (1).
On the junior varsity level, the HKIS boys also scored 18, beating SASPX (8) and ISB (1). The HKIS girls secured their title win with a score of 14, beating SASPX (10) and ISB (3).
In the past eight years, HKIS have won 33 of the 38 China Cup tennis championships.
From September 23 to 24, Shanghai American School, along with many other international schools, kicked off season one tournament play with a bang at China Cup. Founded in 2000, China Cup is a mid-season tournament held between varsity and junior varsity teams from Shanghai American School (SASPX), Shanghai American School Pudong (SASPD), the International School of Beijing (ISB), Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), and Hong Kong International School (HKIS).
Rugby
Up in Hong Kong, the skies were clear at HKIS for the rugby championships. Hong Kong had also recently replaced their field, diffusing an aura of excitement. All SASPX teams entered the competition with great confidence, having thrived in friendly matches previous to the competition. And as expected, SASPX’s rugby teams put in an excellent performance.
After narrowly missing out on the finals against SASPD, SASPX varsity boys faced ISB’s inexperienced side. Despite scoring two early tries, SASPX’s varsity boys were victims to a late ISB surge defeating SASPX 15-10. Although the varsity side came in at a disappointing 4th place, the varsity boys nevertheless showed resilience and determination, which they will carry to their upcoming APAC competition in mid-October. HKIS finished first triumphing SASPD by over 5 tries.
SASPX’s JV boys, on the other hand, successfully reached the finals defeating both ISB and SASPD in the group stage. Contrary to the early success, HKIS thrashed SASPX 47-0. The score, however, did not reflect the amount of effort and resistance the SASPX JV boys showed in the championship match. A runner-up position, in fact, is one of the best results in the past few years. The JV side will bring this confidence into their next major tournament, SISAC, held on October 15. SASPD finished third while ISB finished last.
To appease the disappointing performance from the boy’s teams, SASPX’s girls’ varsity team successfully retained the cup. In an epic final against a very strong ISB team, SASPX was able to hold on to their 2-point lead at the dying moments of the game. ISB’s girls threw in everything they had making numerous attempts to win the try in the final 3 minutes of the 10-minute match, but SASPX’s iron defense was too much for the dragons. The varsity girls will be confident to retain their APAC championship as well with a trophy already in their pockets. SASPD defeated HKIS to claim third place in the tournament.
The JV girls also showed promising performances in the early stages snatching two victories in their first two matches against ISB and HKIS. However, a heavy loss against SASPD prevented them from reaching the finals by goal difference. In their 3rd and 4th place match, they were very unfortunate to lose to a side they beat in a dominating fashion in the group stage, ISB. The girl’s JV side will, nevertheless, persist and pick up their pace in the upcoming SISAC tournament.
Volleyball
Hosted by SASPX, the volleyball championships were difficult to predict. All four teams that came to the tournament had very talented sides with the urge to lift the trophy. The SAS volleyball team found great success in this year’s China Cup as two of their four teams finished as champions. JV boys and Varsity girls both won in the finals defeating WAB and ISB respectively. Both the JV girls and Varsity boys finished in third place. They will carry this momentum in their upcoming tournaments as they hope to win more gold.
Baseball
Playing at home, both SASPX’s varsity and JV side finished in 2nd place as HKIS’ varsity and JV side took the trophy home. SASPX’s varsity side narrowly edged our HKIS, then went on to score convincing victories over ISB and SASPD. In the final, SASPX met HKIS again for the China Cup. This time, however, the varsity side lost due to an excellent performance from the HKIS side. The SASPX side will definitely seek revenge in their upcoming APAC tournament.
All four tennis championship trophies stayed with the hosts, HKIS. The varsity boys, with star players Jackie Tang and Arthur Chau, ended with a score of 18, securing a clear victory against SASPX (6) and ISB (3). The varsity girls did equally well, led by Sabrina Woll and Jacinta Chen. Their score of 17 put them ahead of SASPX (10) and ISB (1).
On the junior varsity level, the HKIS boys also scored 18, beating SASPX (8) and ISB (1). The HKIS girls secured their title win with a score of 14, beating SASPX (10) and ISB (3).
In the past eight years, HKIS have won 33 of the 38 China Cup tennis championships.