2020 ISL Semifinal #2 – Day 2 Live Recap

2020 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – SEMIFINAL #2

• Sunday, November 15th: 6-8pm CET/11-1pm U.S. Central
• Monday, November 16th: 6-8pm CET/11-1pm U.S. Central
• Duna Arena – Budapest, Hungary
• Short Course Meters (SCM) format
• ISL Technical Handbook
• 2020 ISL Scoring Format
• 2020 ISL Prize Money and Bonuses
• How To Watch
• Omega Results 
• Teams: Cali Condors / LA Current / Iron / Toronto Titans
• Startlists Day 2
• Results Day 1
• Full Meet Results

Day 1 of the ISL 2020 Semifinal #2 did not witness the World Records of Semifinal #1, though it pretty well let viewers determine who the four teams in the Final would be. Nonetheless, it ain’t over till it’s over, which is why we’re still here.

On day 1, the Cali Condors established a 27-point lead over rival LA Current, though with the LA Current men won the 4 x 100 medley relay and therefore earned the option to choose the style of the 50 Skins competition, giving the Current at least one method of regaining significant ground on the ‘Dors with Ryan Murphy who is undefeated in the three backstroke skins he has contested thus far this season. However, the Cali women were victorious in their 4 x 100 medley relay, allowing them to unleash Lilly King and Molly Hannis (potentially) in the women’s 50 breaststroke skins, a duo that would be hard to beat.

Caeleb Dressel and Tom Shields were magnificent on the relays on day 1, and they’ll square off again in the 50 fly, alongside the 50 LCM butterfly World Record holder Andrii Govorov. Dressel will also play a major role on Cali’s Mixed 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay where points are worth double.

The Toronto Titans and Iron, the Hungarian home team, are currently battling it out for third place in the team standings, though the day 2 events bode well for Iron, especially if Katinka Hosszu and Ranomi Kromowidjojo are on their game–Kromowidjojo was vital on day 1, though Hosszu seemed fatigued. Toronto, meanwhile, will need to show the same strength it did on day 1 in both the breaststroke and the IM in order to have a chance at finishing second or third. If the Titans can do that and if they can rise to the occasion in the 100 and 200 freestyles, where they are also strong–as well as the relay–then perhaps they can edge their way into the final. It’s a long shot, but it’s not impossible.

Cali’s Hali Flickinger will be one to watch in the 200 butterfly, as will LA’s Shields. Though it would not be tactical to put Shields in the 100 backstroke on day 2 it is interesting to consider his potential in this SCM venue given that he is a former NCAA champion in the 100 yard backstroke, but at this point we’re getting a little too swim-nerdy and speculative, so please stay tuned for the rest of our live recap of the ISL Semifinal #2 Day 2!

Live Recap: Reid Carlson, Live Analysis: Jared Anderson (aka, SwimSwam’s man bun duo)

Team Standings: Day 2

1. Cali Condors – 605.5 points – Advance to Final
2. LA Current – 462.0 points – Advance to Final
3. Iron – 340.5 points – Eliminated
4. Toronto Titans – 303.0 points – Eliminated

Team Standings: Day 1

Day 2 Events

Women’s 100 Freestyle

Beryl Gastaldello‘s turn propelled her to the win over teammate Abbey Weitzeil, getting a 1-2 finish for LA Current and kicking things off in about the best way possible without a jackpot and flood of additional points. Toronto and Iron did not place quite as favorably though Ranomi Kromowidjojo did manage a 4th-place finish for Iron.

LA kicks things off here with a massive 1-2 punch. Neither Gastaldello nor Weitzeil hit a season-best, but still won this won by solid margins. They sit #2 (Gastaldello’s 51.16) and #4 (Weitzeil’s 51.26) in league ranks this season and Weitzeil should get a chance to throw down some major splits in the mixed free relay later today.

There were no jackpots to start off the day here, as Iron’s van Roon stayed inside the margin by just .04.

Still, LA makes up six points on Cali to trail now by 21. Meanwhile Iron added one point to their lead on Toronto, which now stands at 3 points. 

Men’s 100 Freestyle

Though he was slightly off his American Record pace at the 50-meter turn, Dressel surged in the last 50 and touched the wall 0.02 ahead of his American Record, winning the race handily. Cali also managed to bring in valuable second place points with Justin Ress who hit the wall a full second behind Dressel but also just ahead of LA’s Maxime Rooney. Toronto’s Chadwick and Iron’s Lobanovszkij were victims of Dressel’s jackpot.

Kristian Gkolomeev managed a new Greek Record with a 46.72 though he only finished 5th here today, claiming 4 points for LA Current.

Caeleb Dressel continues to soar this week for the Condors. He’s been steadily getting better and better with every week, and that’s a terrifying prospect to every other team in the ISL. Dressel was 45.20 here to shatter the ISL record he set in last season’s final. Dressel is just three tenths off the world record here – and that’s a super-suited world record from 2008.

Dressel hits the #7 performance in history in this event, and the 4th-best swim since the super-suits were banned in 2010. He steals two jackpots, and Cali went 1-2 with Justin Ress continuing his strong swimming with a 46.3. That’s going to boost Cali’s team points lead to 30 – a pretty tough margin for LA to overcome, especially with Cali likely to score big in the women’s skin race.

Toronto did scrape to within a single point of Iron for third place. Pieroni’s 46.60 was fourth, while Iron got 6th with de Boer and both teams had their other entrant jackpotted.

Women’s 200 Butterfly

Though Flickinger dismissed her time in her post-race interview she was nonetheless commanding in this race. Big points for the Condors here, meanwhile Iron finishes in 7th and 8th–Hosszu has a history of success in this event, but she has been way off her game in Budapest this weekend.

Flickinger was just .07 off her season-best here, easily pacing this field in pursuit of big jackpot points. Flickinger was a couple tenths away from jackpotting Iron star Katinka Hosszu, which is a pretty impressive feat. Still, Flickinger jackpoted just one swimmer, Hosszu’s Iron teammate Ugolkova.

That allows Toronto to officially take over third place – they lead Iron by 5. But Iron has typically been pretty good late, with their strong 50 flyers among others, so this race is far from over.
It was a very good showing for Cali, who went 1st/3rd with Kelsi Dahlia coming through nicely. They’ve extended their lead up to 35 over LA for first place.

It’s not much of a battle for the second transfer spot to the final. LA outscored Iron by three points and now sits 103 ahead of third place – that’s a pretty safe margin for LA. The Current shouldn’t be too worried about getting upset out of the final and can just focus on going after Cali in the remainder of the day.

Men’s 200 Butterfly

Tom Shields ran away with the men’s 200 fly, though Eddie Wang once again lowered the World Junior Record, taking the mark sub-1:50 and earning valuable points for the Condors, who alongside Gunnar Bentz bring a combined 13 points in for the Condors. Though Shields got the jackpot times his 15 point haul is diminished by 1 as Jacob Heidtmann, Shields’ LA teammate, missed the minimum time and loses a point, meaning LA will come away with 14 points and not 15. For Shields this is also a new American Record, lowering the previous Record which he had set in 2015 by 0.03.

Tom Shields has yet to lose a 200 fly this season, and he improves to 5-for-5 with a big win here. Cali’s Wang has been the closest competitor to Shields for most of the year, and Shields still won fairly comfortably here, leading by about a half-second most of the way.

Shields improves his own ISL-leading time by a couple tenths, while Wang makes his first foray under 1:50 and remains #2 in the league for the season. Shields is just three tenths off an ISL record set by Daiya Seto last year at 1:48.77.

Cali’s men have taken a lot of heat this year – their depth outside of Dressel was easily the team’s biggest question mark. But the support swimmers are showing up in force today. The Condors were 2nd/3rd with Gunnar Bentz swimming one of his best races of the season in third. Despite Shields taking a triple jackpot, Cali will score just one point fewer in this event. That’s thanks in large part to LA’s Heidtmann missing the cutoff time and losing a point

Women’s 100 Backstroke

Olivia Smoliga was off her best time but she led from start to finish and held off Kylie Masse, a former Condor that now swims for Toronto. Ali DeLoof and Aly Tetzloff grabbed valuable 3rd and 4th place points for LA meanwhile both of Iron’s swimmers were jackpotted by Smoliga, a difficult blow for the Hungarian team.

Toronto’s Masse had never lost a 100 back in the ISL heading into this meet – but she had also never faced the Cali Condors. Smoliga ends Masse’s undefeated run here, as the tough backstrokers in the league have now pretty much all beaten up on each other – Smoliga was at one point undefeated in this race, and so was London’s Kira Toussaint, but they ended each other’s streaks in back-to-back weeks to close the regular season.

Smoliga was 55.9, three tenths off her season-best, which also leads the ISL ranks. Masse was .05 off her season-best and remains #3 in the league. Smoliga did earn three jackpots, but her teammate Fertel missed the cutoff time and will lose the point Smoliga would have jackpotted.

Toronto continues to outswim Iron, though we noted that Iron’s top events tend to come later today, and they’re also much stronger in the women’s skin race than Toronto is. Still, we’ve got Cali leading LA by 37 and Toronto now ahead of Iron by 17. The gap between LA and Toronto is now 112.

Men’s 100 Backstroke

Ryan Murphy was bested in the men’s 100 backstroke, though the margins were narrow. Murphy finished third, tied with Iron’s Guilherme Basseto. Cali’s Coleman Stewart finished second though the biggest surprise was Iron’s Robert Glinta who finished in a very strong 25.47 and got his hand on the wall first for a total time of 49.64.

Iron needed a spark, and this one most certainly qualifies. Robert Glinta exploded for a 49.64 – he came into the meet sitting #4 league-wide in the 100 back, but was facing #3 Murphy here. Glinta cut a tenth from his previous season-best, but will remain #4 in league ranks, just hundredths behind Murphy.
Iron was 1st & 3rd in a big points swing, though they got no jackpots in a deep field.

Murphy faded to a tie for 3rd. That’s a rough showing, though Murphy was just two tenths off his season-best. He had a time drop in the 200 back yesterday, so it’s hard to say where he’s at in the training/rest spectrum. We’ll get to see a good number of these guys return in the 50 back skins later today.

Cali’s Coleman Stewart continued to heat up. He was 49.66 and will jump up to #5 in the league ranks for the year, taking second and beating Murphy.

The event leaves Toronto only 7.5 ahead of Iron in the battle for third place.

Women’s 100 IM

Anastasia Gorbenko was out fast but unable to hold off LA teammate Gastaldello who poured it on in the final 50 meters, despite turning in 6th place at the 50. There were no jackpot times here though Iron Lady Katinka Hosszu finished in 8th place, failing to crack the 1-minute barrier.

LA’s Gastaldello remains undefeated in the 100 IM this year. Her 57.86 is just four tenths off her own ISL record, which currently leads all swimmers in the league by three tenths of a second.
It’s a big swing for LA, with Gorbenko taking second. Gorbenko swimming well is key for LA, as she’ll jump into the 50 breast skin race where LA desperately needs someone to step up heading into the league final.

We saw no jackpots here, which mutes LA’s points haul just a little. Still, they’ll make up seven points on Cali and sit 34.5 behind in second place.

Toronto and Iron each scored six points here, and the Titans remain 7.5 ahead of Iron for third.

Men’s 100 IM

A World Record and commanding victory from Caeleb Dressel; Dressel becomes the first man ever under 50 seconds in the 100 IM with a 49.88. The race was good from start to finish despite Dressel being a little long on the first turn. His cross-over turn from backstroke to breaststroke and his 25 meters of breaststroke in particular were fantastic and what made the difference here. Cali teammate Marcin Cieslak held on for second place and came away with 7 points. Dressel, meanwhile takes 30 points as he jackpotted everyone else in the field besides Cieslak.

The semifinals seem to have opened the floodgates for world records – we hadn’t seen any world records in the regular season, but we’ve now seen two in two semifinals. Caeleb Dressel gets the nod here, becoming the first man ever under 50 seconds in the 100 IM.

Dressel didn’t just break the world record – he obliterated it. Dressel was 49.88 to break the mark by four tenths of a second. It’s a drop of six tenths of a second from Dressel’s previous best. And outside of former world record-holder Vladimir Morozov, no one in history has been within seven tenths of Dressel’s mark here.

Cali was 1st and 2nd again, as their men are swimming lights out so far today. Cielsak improves his season-best by two tenths, and Dressel and Cieslak now hold the #1 and #2 times in the league this year, with no one else within three tenths of a second of Cieslak.

Dressel also matched the biggest jackpot we’ve seen in ISL history. He jackpotted every swimmer but Cieslak for a whopping 30 points. That’s going to keep Dressel in the mix for league MVP, even though he’s really the only MVP contender who hasn’t yet had a skin race in either of his primary strokes. Dressel probably won’t get a crack at fly or free skins this year – but if he keeps putting up massive jackpots like this despite a heavy event load, it’s not going to matter.

Women’s 200 Freestyle

Rebecca Smith looked like she would get Toronto its first win of the day, but Olympic gold medalist Allison Schmitt representing the Cali Condors charged down the final 25 meters to hit the wall first and bring in vital points for Cali. LA’s Andi Murez got to the wall 3rd despite leading at the 100-meter turn. LA loses four points with the absence of Makayla Sargent who did not swim, leaving lane 6 open.

In a battle of the #4 and #5 swimmers in the league this year, #5 took the win. Allison Schmitt improved her season-best by three tenths, dipping under 1:53 for the first time this year. She passes up Smith, who entered the meet as the #4 swimmer leaguewide but will drop to #5 despite swimming within a tenth of her best time.

It’s pretty rare that we see a no-show, but that happened here. LA fielded an empty lane – Kay Sargent was the name listed on the start lists. That’s a four-point penalty for LA, which would be a pretty crucial fumble if the top two weren’t already pretty locked into their current spots.

Following two big wins, Cali has now expanded its lead to 84.5 over LA and should pretty much seal the win. Toronto leads Iron by 13.5 after adding six to their lead here on Smith’s runner-up finish.

Men’s 200 Freestyle

Townley Haas led this race from start to finish and also managed to steal one point from Iron’s Ramon Klenz. Kacper Majchrzak finished second to Haas, boosting the Condor’s points in this race to 17. Fernando Scheffer of LA Current swam well but was bested by Majchrzak by 0.01 and earns 6 points with his 3rd-place finish.

Townley Haas remains undefeated in the 200 free this year, though the competition is going to get much fiercer next week. Haas was about a half-second off his season-best, which sits third in the league. Next week, he’ll battle #1 Duncan Scott and #2 Danas Rapsys in the final.

Cali went 1st/2nd here in yet another strong showing for their non-Dressel men. That’s an incredibly bright spot for Cali – they have the league’s highest-scoring women’s roster by a country mile, and if their men can compete with Energy Standard and London, they’ll have a real shot to win the league title this weekend.

Cali has built its lead to almost a hundred points. They’re up 92.5 on LA, and LA is up 116.5 on Toronto. The only real drama remains in the battle for third, where Toronto sits 16.5 points ahead of Iron heading into a four-event stretch that covers arguably Iron’s four best events.

Women’s 50 Butterfly

Big points for Iron as Henique and Kromowidjojo finish 1-2. Henique stole Toronto’s Rebecca Smith‘s point bringing Iron’s total takeaway from this race up to 17. LA finished 3rd and 4th while Cali was 5th and 6th, though each American team is comfortably ahead in total points.

We expected to see an Iron surge through the next four events, and this one lived up to the hype. Henique got the key win for Iron in a 1-2 finish, and Iron will in all likelihood finish their season sitting #1 and #2 in the league with Kromowidjojo and Henique.

The powerhouse duo also snap a win streak by LA’s Gastaldello, who had won 8 straight ISL races in this event, stretching back to last year.

Henique grabbed one jackpot, and it was a big one, stealing a point from Toronto’s Smith. But Iron was just .05 away from jackpotting Toronto’s other entrant, Hansson, in what would have been a major coup in the battle for third. As it is, Iron has pulled to within 1.5 points of Toronto, almost immediately erasing a lead Toronto had been slowly building for most of today.

Men’s 50 Butterfly

World Record holder Nicholas Santos blasts a 21.80 to just miss his best time but it doesn’t matter as he jackpots half of the field and brings in a crucial 19 points. Cali gets 13 points thanks to Caeleb Dressel and Marcin Cieslak finishing 2nd and 3rd. Though Dressel didn’t win the race he did set an American Record with his 22.04-second performance in this race.

Make it two in a row for Iron. League leader Nicholas Santos has been outstanding here this year, and he takes the head-to-head win over Dressel to put Iron firmly into third place as a team. Santos was only .02 off his league record time and will end his season the league leader.

Cali was second and third with Dressel and Cieslak, both coming off the 100 IM on the other side of the session break. Dressel was a season-best by .02, and with Santos not likely competing in the final, Dressel will likely be the top-ranked swimmer in next week’s final.

Santos grabbed four jackpots in his final 50 fly of the year. That puts Iron 17.5 points above Toronto as the Titans get jackpotted out of all points. The 50 flyers have effectively turned a 16.5-point Toronto lead into a 17.5-point Iron lead, a massive late-meet swing.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke

Lilly King improved drastically upon her relay split from day 1, posting a 1:03.29 to win the 100 breaststroke today. Though she is still pretty far from Atkinson’s mark of 1:02.66 from semifinal number 1 she won today by over a second. The showdown between King, Atkinson, and Pilato in the ISL final should make for one of the most exciting races of the season.

Lilly King has been under attack from all angles lately – that tends to happen when you’ve got the most high-profile win streak in league history. She’s taken a few losses, but remains unbeaten in the 100 breaststroke for her entire ISL career – that’s 9 straight wins. She’ll go for #10 next week, but will have to face London’s Alia Atkinson, who broke King’s league record earlier this week in semifinal #1.

King was 1:03.29 here, a tenth off her season-best. She remains #2 in the league this year behind Atkinson.

Cali went 1-2 here, pressing their breaststroke advantage. Hannis is the #5 swimmer in the league this year, and we should see four of the top five competing in next week’s final, two of them from Cali.

Iron was 3rd and 4th, which bodes well for their hopes in the women’s skin race later today. Toronto’s Ulyett got jackpotted, and the Titans trail Iron by 24.5 for third. Cali leads LA by 108.5 for first.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke

Emri Sakci didn’t come close to matching the times put up by Peaty or Shymanovic in Semifinal #1 but he still managed to win by over half a second. No one was jackpotted in this race, however, so Sakci takes the normal 9 points for Iron. Will Licon and Felipe Silva were a tight 2-3 for the Currrent and actually earned LA more points than Sakci and Murdoch did for Iron with their 1-7 finish.

Emre Sakci picks up the Iron win streak after a one-event King detour. Sakci has been the highest-impact rookie in the league this year, and wins this one by half a second over 200 breast winner Will Licon.

Sakci had his league record broken by London’s Adam Peaty in the first semifinal, but he’ll remain #3 in the league ranks after this swim, likely his last of the season.

We saw no jackpots here, and the point standings remain at the status quo: Cali is up 104.5 on LA, and LA leads Iron by 109. None of those margins is going to be overcome. The battle remains between Iron and Toronto, with Iron opening up a 30.5-point lead on the Titans – probably insurmountable, but not completely settled with the skins accounting for so many points at the end of the meet.

4 x 100 Mixed Freestyle Relay

Maxime Rooney started things off in a big way for LA, posting a new lifetime best of 45.86. Rooney handed over to Tom Shields who swam a solid 46.20, though he was going against Caeleb Dressel who posted a blistering 45.01, sailing to the wall over half a second ahead of Shields. Olivia Smoliga then posted a very quick 51.94 and handed off to Erika Brown who put up a 51.55 to earn the Condors the victory, though Abbey Weitzeil looked like she might reel Brown in, posting a 51.25 for the fastest female split in the race.

Cali took over on a massive 45.0 split from Dressel, who just keeps lighting up the scoreboard despite a brutal event schedule. Justin Ress was 46.4 on his leadoff leg, and Olivia Smoliga (51.9) and Erika Brown (51.5) held the lead against a tough LA crew. Cali was 3:14.96, smashing their previous season-best and shattering the ISL record here by two tenths of a second. That’s proving to be the downside of every other team picking the skin race away from Dressel – that limits his scoring in the points-heavy skin race, but also allows Cali to load up this relay and use Dressel’s absurd splits. They now sit two tenths ahead of London and six tenths ahead of Energy Standard heading into next week’s final.

LA put up a fight. Maxime Rooney led off in 45.86, moving to #3 in the league for the season in the 100 free. That’s six tenths faster than Rooney went in the individual 100 free just over an hour ago. LA also got a 51.2 from anchor Abbey Weitzeil, who was fighting valiantly to run down Brown for the win. LA’s 3:15.62 is about a second and a half faster than their previous best time, and they sit 4th in league ranks. In fact, the top four teams in the league in this relay will be the four teams competing in next week’s final.

Toronto was 3:18.38, taking a half-second off their season-best. Michelle Coleman split 51.9 on her leg, and Yuri Kisil was 46.7 leading off. The Titans went 3rd/4th with a lot of depth. Claire Fisch (51.8) actually had the best women’s split of any Titans swimmer, swimming from the B relay. That’ll help cut Iron’s lead down to 17.5 points in the race for third.

Iron was 6th and 8th, getting a 51.9 anchor from Ranomi Kromowidjojo.

Women’s 400 IM

Hali Flickinger was in control of this race the entire way, never once conceding the lead, though Tessa Cieplucha made it interesting on breaststroke as she began to chip away at Flickinger’s lead, though she did not have the closing speed on freestyle to catch her. Katinka Hosszu was well off her best time but managed to finish 5th for Iron. Toronto earned solid points with 2nd and 4th place finishes by Cieplucha and Emily Overholt. Flickinger stole the points from Iron’s Maria Ugolkova and teammate Kelly Fertel.

Melanie Margalis withdrew from the ISL last week, but Cali had been missing her in this event for much longer. She hadn’t swum a 400 IM since week 1, and Hali Flickinger had mostly taken over as the team’s top threat. Flickinger held up her role here, getting the win over another tough competitor, Toronto’s Tessa Cieplucha.

Cieplucha entered the meet ranked 5th in the league, but Flickinger will displace her from that spot after this swim. Flickinger was 4:27.07, three tenths faster than Cieplucha’s season-best. This event could be an open one in the final, with three of the top five (#1 Ohashi, #3 Margalis and #4 Wood) not competing in the final. Flickinger is definitely heating up at the right time, cutting two seconds from her personal-best here.

Toronto did have a nice event, cutting Iron’s lead down to 9.5 points with three races remaining. That came after Iron’s Ugolkova was jackpotted in 7th place.

Men’s 400 IM

Leonardo Santos doubles up on IM wins today with his victory in the 400. Santos looked smooth and in control the entire way and won by over a second. Iron teammate David Verraszto got his hand on the wall 3rd giving Iron solid points.

Iron’s Leonardo Santos has had a great final meet. He won the 200 IM yesterday and moved to #2 in the league ranks, and today won the 400 IM, moving up to #5 in league ranks to end his season.

Iron was 1st and 3rd, with second-ranked David Verraszto winding up third here. That’s going to stake Iron to an 18.5-point lead over Toronto for third place. Iron should have a sizable advantage in the women’s breaststroke skin race, while the two are somewhat even in the men’s backstroke skin race.

Mark Szaranek had a big swim for the Cali men, coming in second. That’ll be a key for them in next week’s finale, where four of the top five in the league ranks for the season are not competing.

Women’s Skins – 50 Breaststroke

Round 1:

We’ll see a repeat of yesterday’s top four in the 50 breast. Two Cali Condors and two Iron swimmers move on – that should pretty much seal Iron into third place, unless Toronto can somehow win the men’s backstroke skins.

King won easily, avenging a loss to teammate Hannis yesterday. Hannis also moves on, and Iron’s Hulkko and Laukkanen round out the field.

LA chose to use star Beryl Gastaldello here, putting their best swimmer into an off-stroke on a wing and a prayer. Gastaldello has been incredible and versatile this year, but breaststroke just isn’t her forte. She was 8th here and got jackpotted by King.

Round 2:

The Cali Condors have swum four women’s breaststroke skin races this year. And King and Hannis have stacked the final in three of the four. They continue to dominate here, winning here by two tenths over Iron’s Hulkko.

Things should get tougher on Cali next week, with Energy’s Benedetta Pilato and London’s Alia Atkinson in the mix, but for now, there’s no team that’s been able to shut down Cali’s breaststroking attack on the women’s side.

Round 3:

King wins her 4th skin race of the year – that’s a league-high, though LA’s Ryan Murphy has a chance to match her in the next event.

Her 29.15 in the final round is extremely impressive. Only two other swimmers in the league have been faster than that at any point this year, much less in the final round of a skin race. (Those two are Hannis and Energy Standard’s Benedetta Pilato, who is tied with King for the league lead heading into the final).

Men’s Skins – 50 Backstroke

Round 1:

It was a brutally close field, with the top five separated by just 0.18 seconds. Toronto’s Shane Ryan picked up the win from an outside lane, blasting a 22.91 that is just .05 off his season-best time.
LA’s Ryan Murphy gets in in second place. He won’t get any jackpot points here, but probably remains the favorite to win across the final two rounds – and learning to pace between rounds is probably key for Murphy, who will face a gauntlet of tough backstrokers next week, and potentially in the skins again.

Each team got one man in. Coleman Stewart continues to stand out for Cal and took third. Iron’s Robert Glinta bested teammate Guilherme Basseto for the final spot in the next round.

Round 2:

Murphy used a great turn and underwater to take over the lead here. Everyone in the field dropped off quite a bit – Murphy was the only one under 24 this time, when these top four were all under 23.03 last round.

Cali’s Stewart came through and nipped Glinta by .01, blocking Glinta and Ryan out of the final and putting Stewart into his first skins final. Not only that, but Stewart will become just the second skins finalist for the Cali men this year – Caeleb Dressel made one final in breaststroke in match #4. Toronto will end the season without a men’s skins finalist. 

Round 3:

Murphy matches King with a league-high 4 skins wins – and both will have real chances to win again next week. Murphy went 24.23, winning by almost a second and a half and jackpotting away Stewart’s points. Stewart looked clearly exhausted coming out of round 2, and dropped off quite a bit, though he still joins Dressel as the team’s only men’s skins finalists this year.

That will seal a Cali win in this meet by 143.5 points, a massive margin. LA was 121.5 ahead of Iron as there was really no drama as to who would move on to the league final next week. Iron stayed 37.5 points ahead of Toronto in the final meet of the year for those two franchises.

Final Team Scores:

1. Cali Condors – 605.5 points – Advance to Final
2. LA Current – 462.0 points – Advance to Final
3. Iron – 340.5 points – Eliminated
4. Toronto Titans – 303.0 points – Eliminated