2021 International Swimming League – Match 5, Day 1: Live Recap

2021 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – SEASON 3, MATCH 5

• Thursday, September 9 – Friday, September 10
• 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST (8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Local Time)
• Piscina Felice Scandone, Naples, Italy
• Short Course Meters (25m – SCM) Format
• ISL Season 3 Schedules, Start Times, & More
• Teams Competing: LA Current, Iron, Toronto Titans, DC Trident
• Match 5 Preview
• Omega Live Results

Match 5 presents fans with the opportunity to see whether a revamped Toronto Titans has what it takes to beat the LA Current, a team that has finished 4th in the league each of the past two seasons. In the Match 5 preview we gave the overall odds to LA, but Toronto kept it close with Energy Standard in Match 1, so they could upset for the victory. Third place will be fought for between Iron and the DC Trident. If DC finishes 4th again, it will be their third time doing so this season. They looked much better in Match 4 than Match 1 though, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them climb the ranks here.

Day 1 Start Lists

Lane Assignments:

• Lanes 1&2: Toronto Titans (TOR)
• Lanes 3&4: LA Current (LAC)
• Lanes 5&6: Iron (IRO)
• Lanes 7&8: DC Trident (DCT)

Team Rosters/Depth Charts

• All Ten 2021 ISL Team Rosters
• LA Current – Naples Depth Chart
• Toronto Titans – Naples Depth Chart
• Iron – Naples Depth Chart
• DC Trident – Naples Depth Chart

Women’s 100 Butterfly

Toronto’s Louise Hansson takes a 15-point jackpot and nearly ties Kelsi Dahlia‘s one-week-old ISL Record in the 100 butterfly, posting a 55.26 to fall just 0.04 short of Dahlia’s mark. LA Current and DC Trident both did well to get 11 points each–Hansson jackpotted her own teammate so she was Toronto’s only point-scorer in the opening race. Iron starts off with both swimmers having their points stolen, giving them 0 points after the first event.

Men’s 100 Butterfly

Tom Shields and Tomoe Hvas answer Hansson’s swim with a vital 21 points thanks to their 1st- and 3rd-place finishes, respectively. Marius Kusch gets 7 points for Toronto, allowing them to hold onto a 1-point lead over LA after the second race. DC’s Zach Harting brings the Trident 5 points versus Iron’s Nicholas Santos who only brings in 4 points–DC, Toronto, and Iron’s second swimmers all had their points stolen, meaning LA is the only team to see both athletes score.

This is a great swim for Shields and comes within 3/10ths of his personal best time. Shields is the former American Record holder in the men’s 100 SCM butterfly and the 3rd-fastest performer all-time in the race. Shields is almost always pitted against Cali’s Caeleb Dressel or Energy Standard’s Chad le Clos, so it was important to see that he can swim near his best times without his biggest rivals in the lanes next to him.

Women’s 200 Backstroke

Toronto’s Lisa Bratton surged past teammate Kylie Masse to win the women’s 200 backstroke in 2:01.66 to Masse’s 2:01.97, stealing a single point from DC’s Szuszanna Jakabos. Ingrid Wilm, who a week ago broke Masse’s Canadian Record in the 100 meter backstroke, and Kathleen Baker, both of the LA Current, finished a strong 3rd and 4th, whereas Iron finished 5th and 6th, leaving only 2 points for DC after Jackabos lost her 1 point for 8th place.

Men’s 200 Backstroke

DC Trident’s Jacob Pebley surged over the final 75 meters to decimate the field, winning by nearly a full 2 seconds in 1:50.39. Pebley’s swim came as a jackpot, stealing all of the points from his teammate as well as one swimmer from Iron and one from Toronto. The Titans, however, did manage a 2nd-place finish with Cole Pratt, whereas LA’s Maxime Rooney places 3rd. LA was the only team that got to keep all their points with a 5th-place finish from Apostolos Christou. This gives LA 10 points to DC’s 15, however, it is still a better outcome for the Current than it is for Iron, who only earns 5 points, and Toronto who earns 7 points.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke

DC’s Maria Temnikova rallied on the final 25 to pass LA’s Anastasia Gorbenko and win the 200 breaststroke, stealing a single point from Iron’s Ida Hulkko. DC’s second swimmer, Tatiana Belonogoff, placed 7th giving the Trident a total of 12 points in the race. LA’s second swimmer, Sara Fraceschi, placed 5th, giving LA 11 points, just 1 less than DC takes. Iron gets on the board with 5 points from Jenna Strauch, however, Toronto nabs 8 points with 4th- and 6th-place finishes.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke

Iron earns a much-needed 10 points and bookends the men’s 200 breaststroke, finishing 1st and 8th. DC Trident, however, comes away with 13 points thanks to 2nd- and 3rd-place finishes from Cody Miller and Tommy Cope. Toronto does well, earning 9 points, only 1 less than Iron, meanwhile it is LA’s weakest event of the day so far, with the Current taking home just 5 points.

Women’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay

The Toronto Titans upset the LA Current with a victory in the women’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay, though LA’s Abbey Weitzeil posted a blazing 51.16 on the anchor leg. LA’s Madison Wilson also posted a 51.14 on the 2nd leg of the relay, the fastest in the field. Toronto earns a jackpot, stealing the points from half of the field, including the ‘B’ teams from DC, Iron, and LA. With 38 points earned versus LA’s 14, DC’s 12, and Iron’s 10, this relay represents a huge points surge for the Titans. Furthermore, LA and Iron’s actual point totals come out to 12 points for LA and 8 points for Iron, each of which was deducted 2 points for their ‘B’ teams failing to meet the minimum time standard.

Team Points Update

1. Toronto Titans – 101
2. LA Current – 81
3. DC Trident – 70
4. Iron – 40

Men’s 50 Freestyle

DC’s Ryan Hoffer steps up to win his first-ever ISL race, taking the 50 freestyle in 21.25, though Trident teammate Zach Apple places 8th in 21.77, earning only 1 point giving DC 10 total. Iron, on the other hand, earns 11 points thanks to 3rd- and 4th-place finishes from Thom de Boer and Marco Orsi, respectively. Tom Shields, who won the men’s 100 butterfly earlier in the session, places 5th in 21.55, swimming the race mostly underwater. Toronto did well enough with a 9.5-point haul versus LA’s 6.5-point haul.

Women’s 50 Freestyle

Kasia Wasick blasted a 23.78 in lane 1 to out-touch LA’s Abbey Weitzeil by 0.09, also stealing the point from Iron’s Costanza Cocconcelli. Toronto’s Michelle Coleman places 3rd giving the Titans 16 points versus LA’s 12 points. Iron earns a mere 5 points, the same as DC. This could be the momentum Toronto needs to extend their lead over the LA Current. After the 50 freestyle, the Toronto Titans have 126.5 points versus LA’s 98 points. The DC Trident is doing well keeping it close to LA as they have 85 points while Iron trails with 56 points.

Men’s 200 IM

DC’s Andreas Vazaios blasted past LA’s Tomoe Hvas to win the 200 IM 1:52.30 to 1:52.42. DC’s Tommy Cope, who earlier swam the 200 breaststroke, placed 6th to earn 3 points. Iron’s Erik Persson, the winner of the 200 IM, placed 8th and had his point stolen by Vazaios. DC earns a total of 13 points to LA’s 9 points, Iron’s 5 points, and Toronto’s 10 points.

Women’s 200 IM

DC Trident sweeps the IMs on day 1 with a win by Bailey Andison in the women’s 200 IM. Szuszanna Jakabos also gets on the board, giving DC 12 points in the race. LA’s Anastasia Gorbenko places 2nd for 7 points while teammate Helena Gasson places 6th for 3 points giving LA a total of 10 points, a solid heat overall for the Current. Toronto’s Kayla Sanchez gets a 3rd-place finish for 6 points while teammate Tess Cieplucha places 5th, giving Toronto 10 points to hold even with the Current. Iron, however, earns a mere 5 points as Africa Zamorano had her 8th-place point stolen by Andison.

Men’s 50 Breaststroke

Felipe Franca Silva makes it 3-for-3 with consecutive victories on day 1 with a 0.01 win over Iron’s Emre Sakci. DC will earn a total of 13 points in the race versus LA’s 7, which is exactly what the Toronto Titans need to maintain their lead. The Titans earn only 6 points here, while Iron gets 11 points, making this one of their best races of the day, even though it was a minor upset for Franca Silva to out-touch Sakci.

If any team has benefitted from DC’s surge today it is Toronto. Though it would be a surprise to see the DC Trident place 2nd in this match, it does not appear out of the question at this moment.

Women’s 50 Breaststroke

LA Current’s Imogen Clark ends the DC win-streak with a victory in the women’s 50 breaststroke, out-touching Iron’s Ida Hulkko by 0.09. Iron, for their part, earn 10 points in this event to LA’s 14. Toronto is penalized for Kelsey Wog swimming slower than the minimum time set by the league, meaning the Titans will only get 4 points in this race. The DC Trident earn 8 points, which is enough to keep the battle for 2nd place in the overall team standings interesting.

Men’s 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay

The Toronto Titans get a huge boost with a 30-point jackpot victory in the men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay. he LA Current places 2nd for 14 points, while the DC Trident did well to place 3rd and 5th, earning a total of 20 points for them. LA and Toronto’s ‘B’ teams, meanwhile, had their points stolen by the Toronto ‘A’ team. Iron takes a hit with a 4th place finish and a 2-point penalty for their ‘B’ team failing to meet the minimum time standard. Iron’s ‘B’ team featured two breaststrokers: Emre Sakci and Erik Persson. Sakci, who just swam the 50 breaststroke, split a respectably 47.39, meanwhile Persson, the winner of the 200 breaststroke, split a 50.35–still faster than fellow breaststroke specialists Marco Koch and Chase Kalisz have done on this relay this season, though it represents Iron’s desperation.

The LA Current’s two relay teams switched lanes before the race, meaning that it was the team of Maxime Rooney, Ryan Held, Tom Shields, and Brett Pinfold that placed 2nd, whereas the team of Breno Correia, Fernando Scheffer, Martin Malyutin, and Vladislav Bukhov in fact placed 7th. Therefor, the actual split times attributed to each swimmer in the Omega results are also incorrect and should instead be credited to their counterpart on the other relay.

Women’s 50 Backstroke

DC Trident’s Ali DeLoof earns her 2nd victory of the season in the 50 backstroke, beating Kylie Masse of Toronto 25.98 to 26.16. DeLoof’s victory steals the single point awarded to 8th place from LA’s Beryl Gastaldello. Toronto’s second swimmer, Michelle Coleman, places 7th giving the Titans a total haul of 9 points. LA earns the fewest points of all four teams in this heat with only 6 points while Iron earns 7 points.

Team Points Update

1. Toronto Titans – 195.5
2. DC Trident – 166.0
3. LA Current – 158.8
4. Iron – 102.0

Men’s 50 Backstroke

Shane Ryan blasted a 23.12 to win the men’s 50 backstroke, stealing the single point from teammate Cole Pratt. DC’s Andreas Vazaios and Mark Nikolaev bring in a total of 10 points to equal the Titans, meanwhile Iron teammates Robert Glinta and Guilherme Basseto tie for 4th earning Iron 9 points. LA earns 8 points, making all four teams relatively even in this race.

Women’s 400 Freestyle

Toronto’s Summer McIntosh had a huge swim and produced a new Canadian Record in the women’s 400 freestyle, posting a 3:58.78. Toronto Titans teammate Julia Hassler produced a 4:01.09 to place 2nd, giving the Titans a solid 22-point haul once jackpot points and checkpoint points are accounted for. The DC Trident did well to place 3rd and 4th, earning a total of 13 points, meanwhile LA placed 5th and 7th, giving them a total of 11 points–far more than would normally be earned by the 5th- and 7th-place finishers, though Madison Wilson, who placed 5th, turned in 3rd at the 100-meter checkpoint, giving her an additional 3 points for a total of 7. Iron’s Barbora Seemanova, meanwhile, placed just 6th but scored 9 points, the second-highest of any individual in the race, thanks to her early speed and turning first at the 100-meter checkpoint, good fo an additional 6 points.

Men’s 400 Freestyle

Martin Malyutin gave the LA Current the boost it needed with a victory in the men’s 400 freestyle, also getting a jackpot from Iron’s Matt Richards who placed 8th. Richards was also deducted a point for not meeting the minimum time standard. Even so, Richards swam nearly 4 seconds faster than he did in his previous match this season. LA’s Fernando Scheffer placed 5th but came away with 10 points since he turned first at the 100-meter checkpoint. Toronto’s Luc Kroon and Iron’s Luiz Altamir Melo also take home 10 points each. In total, LA comes away with 21 points, Toronto with 13 points, DC with 9 points, and Iron with 9 points.

Women’s 4 x 100 Medley Relay

Toronto took the win in the women’s 4 x 100 medley relay giving them the option to choose the stroke for the 50 skins races tomorrow, though before they choose both the DC Trident and the LA Current will get to eliminate one stroke each, with DC choosing first. Iron did okay in this race with 4th- and 5th-place finishes good for 18 points total, the same amount that the DC Trident tallied. LA, however, comes away with only 14 points, the lowest in the field, versus Toronto’s 24 points.

Notably, Louise Hansson blasted a 54.73 butterfly split for the Titans, while Ali DeLoof put up a 55.99 on the backstroke for DC. DeLoof was already the 5th-fastest American all-time and she retains that rank, she is also now only the 5th American woman to ever swim under 56 seconds in the 100 SCM backstroke.

Men’s 4 x 100 Medley Relay

The Toronto Titans again will get to choose the stroke for the men’s 50 skins races on day 2, after DC and LA take their turns eliminating one stroke each. Iron, for the second time today, is left out of the skins selection process. Toronto can thank breaststroker Fabian Schwingenschogl for their win as his 56.62 split was easily the fastest in the field and one of only three sub-58 second breaststroke splits in the field. Toronto comes away with 20 points, LA with 22 points, DC with 18 points, and Iron with 10 points.

No backstroker broke 50 seconds on the lead-off today, but Tom Shields split a blazing 48.53 on LA Current’s butterfly leg.

Team Standings – Day 1

1. Toronto Titans – 284.5
2. DC Trident – 234.0
3. LA Current – 232.5
4. Iron – 161.0