NEWS Term 4 2011
SACS High take 50% vs Wynberg
Games were split down the middle vs Wynberg, with each schol taking 4 of 8. SACS, however, won 2 out of 3 A team games, including a well earned 10-7 win for the First Team.
SACS High find tough going at Paul Roos
SACS High were gifted nothing at Paul Roos this weekend, working hard for First Team and U14A wins, losing the U15A game and many of the lower teams. Much hard work will be required if we are to turn this around by next year!
SACS Junior Add 8 to the Western Province Tally
SACS Junior's highly successful U13A team has been rewarded with 8 Province selections. Mika'eel and Ishma'eel Essa, James Brewer, Nic Redelinghuys & Sebastian Bedoli will represent the Province U13A team, while Akshay Arya, Cameron Laurenson and Joshua Faber will turn out for the B side. A great achievement guys!
SACS High Produce 21 Province Players, 3 Coaches
SACS High School's total of 21 Provincial payers from U14 to U19 is second only to Reddam at 22. Bishops provide 19 to the cause of Western Province, Wynberg 14 and Rondebosch 10. The three A Team coaches at SACS High have also been given positions in the Province set up. A great all-round effort! For a full list of provincial players, a download is available here.
SACS U15A claim third at Ian Melliar Cup
The SACS U15A team did us proud at the Ian Melliar U15 Cup, hosted by Wynberg, coming third in the tournament that included 20 of the nations best water polo schools. They played great polo throughout the tournament, coming second in their pool to eventual runners-up St Andrews and missing out on the final at the hands of winners Wynberg in the semi. Detailed results of the pool games and playoffs can be found here.
SACS U14A Come Fifth at Rondebosch Tournament
The young guns from the High School entered into the Rondebosch Tournament with high hopes, despite the tough draw that saw them face no.1 ranked Grey PE in the quarters. They played exceptional water polo throughout, easily beating Hilton and Wynberg before losing their final pool game to Reddam in a tense affair. The quarter final against Grey was tight until the middle of the 3rd chukka, where Grey pulled away and our boys were forced to play catch up, leaking more goals as we played high-risk polo. the final score of 1-8 did not represent their effort, and they made sure to let everyone know that they came for more than fifth place by beating Maritzburg 11-2 in their playoff. Well done to Reddam for a brilliant performance in the final to beat Grey PE 7-2 in the final!
SACS First Team claim victory vs Rondebosch
The SACS First Team had a great game to beat Rondebosch 7-4 on the weekend! The U15A team won comfortably and the U14As were left without a fixture as Rondebosch was attending the Grey Bloem Tournament. Get the rest of the results here.
SACS Junior U13 Tournament Won by DPHS
DPHS were winners of the SACS Junior U13 Tournament, beating hosts and favourites SACS in the final. SACS had a good run through the pool games, winning their pool, while DPHS had a tougher time, coming third in theirs. However, they picked up speed in the playoffs and blitzed to a 5-0 lead by half-time in the final, putting the game beyond SACS' reach. The final score was 9-5. Joint third was shared by RBPS and WPPS - a good showing from the Cape teams!
Pretoria Boys Victorious at SACS Tournament
Pretoria Boys took victory at the hotly contested U19 Tournament that ran from the 1st-3rd October. PBHS beat Bishops 4-3 in the final, which was a repeat of the KES Tournament semi-final from which Bishops advanced. The young SACS side had a hugely impressive tournament, coming in at 4th place and beating the KES side in their quarter final, the team that had won their own tournament earlier in the year. St Stithians had a strong showing, placing 3rd. The tournament was, once again, a great success, well done to all involved! Full results available on the SACS Water Polo Tournament 2011 page.
Fina Junior World Championships
Devon Card, Coach of the SACS High First Team, defending for SA U20 Men with a characteristically physical challenge!
While most of us started training for the upcoming season a few weeks ago, the SA U20 Men and Ladies teams worked hard throughout the winter in order to be ready for their Junior World Champs tournaments in Greece and Italy respectively, held in August through September. Results and game summaries from the Men's and Ladies' tournaments can be found here on the Fina website. Definitely an event to aim for for our up-and-coming stars!
Rebecca Thomas (Goalkeeper) and Megan Parkes (10) of SA U20 Women attempt to stop an Uzbekistan attack.
U15A Win Nail-biting Final at Mazinter Cup; U13As Keep winning form
The U15A side won two very tense games on Thursday 17th in their Semi and Final match ups against Wynberg and Bishops respectively, both coming down to a penalty shoot-out. The SACS men kept cool heads in the final to overturn a 3 goal deficit and go on to calmly take control of the shoot-out. Well done gentlemen!
Continuing in their fast paced, skillful style, the SACS U13A team gave the sizable crowd many things to cheer about when they beat Rondebosch Prep in their final, cruising to yet another victory with all guns blazing. It is easy to get used to their success and expect the victories, and as such it is necessary to remind oneself that this team's success is due to their commitment, work ethic and passion for the game. Each new tournament victory adds to their amazing story!
The other two SACS teams involved in the Mazinter Cup games were the 1st and U14A teams. Providing the crowd with thrilling games, they were both unlucky to go down by one goal - the 1st side losing to Reddam and the U14As to Bishops. They certainly kept the SACS flag flying high and there is no doubt that they will come out to compete with even more fire next year!
On the whole, with SACS taking two of the four trophies on offer, we can be proud of the boys' efforts at Mazinter. Particularly in the cases of the 1st and U15A sides, SACS has shown that it produces teams that can overcome adversity in their difficult league seasons to produce very good results when it counts - they never gave up the fight and have been well rewarded!
All four SACS Teams qualify for Mazinter Semi's
The SACS U13A, U14A, U15A and 1st teams have all qualified for places in the Mazinter Cup semi-finals. The U13A side had no trouble, having cleaned up their division in the Western Cape (as well as all-comers from around the country!) and will play in the final on Thursday evening. The best of luck to them, we hope their dominant form continues!
The 1st and U15A teams did well to secure places in their very closely-fought divisions, with Saturday's results against Bishops tipping the scales in their favour through better goal differences than their rivals. The U14A side qualified in second place behind Reddam and will look for their third consecutive win against Bishops in the semi-final.
The U13A side - An Incredible Team's Journey to the Slabber Cup
This team has proven to be a force to be reckoned with this term! The boys have played 28 matches (either at fixtures or in tournaments) and remain unbeaten-an awesome record by anyone’s standards.They have been focused and totally committed throughout and have just one more match to play to complete this season. On Thursday 17th March they will be playing in the final at the SLABBER CUP at Newlands Swimming Pool –starting at 18h30.
We wish them all the best for this final encounter and congratulations on their success thus far.
All eyes on Mazinter Cup
Having worked hard to find a way back into contention for the Mazinter cup, the 1st and U15 Teams will be looking for favourable results from this weekend's fixture at Bishops. The U14 Team will be looking for their second win over Bishops, who have had some good results lately, coming second to Reddam at the Ken Short Tournament hosted by Jeppe over the weekend on the 4th-6th March. Mazinter semi and final games will be at Newlands Pool on Thursday 17 March.
1st Team falls short of potential at KES Tournament
The upward curve that had characterized the 1st Team's season was apparent in their first game, where they narrowly lost, 8-10, to a highly touted St Stithians side.The scores were tied going into the final chukka, showing just how well SACS had played, but they were unable to convert in the final quarter. Following this performance, the next two against Paul Roos and Maritzburg College were disappointing, as SACS lost two winnable games. This left the men in blue with a classification match against Grey College for 13/14th place, which they won fairly comfortably. All in all, valuable experience was gained for the young SACS men, many of whom will return to the tournament next year.
U13A Team Wins Grey PE Tournament
The U13A team took part in the Annual Grey PE Waterpolo this past weekend. Eleven teams took part in the round robin which was run over 3 days. The players put on an awesome display of waterpolo throughout the tournament and were rewarded with a place in the final against Durban Prep. After playing and winning 11 games they had to refocus on the final game. Deservedly, the U13’s walked away with a win. These boys have shown commitment, determination and maturity in their approach to the game throughout this first half of the season.
1st Team Tops Reddam 5-4 in Come-From-Behind Win
The High School 1st Team had a good win against Reddam in the midweek fixture on Wednesday 23rd February. Showing true SACS heart and determination, goals from Shane Fourie, Nicholas Tinkler and Uthman Samaai overcame Reddam's 4-1 final chukka lead. SACS held Reddam scoreless for the final two chukkas, and along with this defensive effort, came alive in the 4th to record a memorable victory!
U14A Dave Pitcairn Cup
The U14A side played in the Dave Pitcairn Cup hosted by Reddam over the weekend of 18-20 February, coming second to the Reddam U14A side. They lost 3-0 in a tense and hard fought final. The side registered 48 goals for and only 6 against through the tournament, a remarkable achievement! They worked hard to get to the final, overcoming a 2 goal deficit to beat Bishops 4-3 in extra time of the semi-final with an impressive backshot golden goal from center forward Seb Schultz.
