2021 ISL Playoffs – Match 4: Day 1 Live Recap

2021 ISL Playoffs – Match 4

• Saturday, November 20 – Sunday, November 21
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm local time; 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST
• Pieter van den Hoogenband Zwemstadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands
• Short Course Meters (25m – SCM) Format
• ISL Season 3 Schedules, Start Times, & More
• Day 1 Start Lists
• Results
• Teams Competing: Cali Condors, London Roar, LA Current, Iron

Caeleb Dressel makes his highly anticipated return to the ISL playoffs here in Match 3 for his defending champion Cali Condors.

The Condors won without him last week, so they’re the massive favorites here, while LA and London are set for a big matchup with finals implications.

Coming into the playoffs it appeared to be a two-horse race between LA and Toronto for the fourth spot in the league final, with Cali, Energy Standard and London expected to be shoo-ins. However, the Current have been rejuvenated by the return of Ryan Murphy and now are firmly in control of their own destiny after winning their opening playoff match last weekend (over both London and Toronto).

Now, after the Titans secured a runner-up finish in Match 3 on Friday, the Roar could find themselves in a precarious position if they can’t overcome the Current. In the scenario that London places third behind Cali/LA this weekend and Energy Standard/LA next week, all Toronto has to do is beat the Centurions and Iron next weekend and the Titans will bump London out of the playoffs.

London has its back against the wall with breaststrokers Adam Peaty and Kirill Prigoda still absent from the team.

Today’s performances will set the table for the Roar. Are they in the running for championship glory? Or will the club fail to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history?

Women’s 100 Fly

• ISL Record: 55.22, Kelsi Dahlia (USA), 2021

1. Kelsi Dahlia (CAC), 54.89
2. Emma McKeon (LON), 56.00
3. Erika Brown (CAC), 56.13
4. Anna Ntountounaki (LAC), 56.70
5. Beryl Gastaldello (lLAC), 57.12
6. Maria Ugolkova (IRO), 57.17
7. Ilaria Bianchi (LON), 57.79
8. Emilie Beckmann (IRO), 58.07

Kelsi Dahlia got the Cali Condors off to a phenomenal start in the women’s 100 fly, scaring world record pace on the opening 50 en route to narrowly missing her American Record in a time of 54.89.

Dahlia was just .05 off her AR of 54.84, and smashes her ISL Record of 55.22 set earlier this season. She has now won the women’s 100 fly five times this season.

Dahlia earned a massive 19-point jackpot with the victory, with London’s Emma McKeon the runner-up in 56.00 and Cali’s Erika Brown third in 56.13.

LA’s Anna Ntountounaki was the only other swimmer to put points on the board.

Men’s 100 Fly

• ISL Record: 47.78, Caeleb Dressel (USA), 2020

1. Tom Shields (LAC), 49.36
2. Vini Lanza (LON), 50.06
3. Nicholas Santos (IRO), 50.21
4. Maxime Rooney (LAC), 50.37
5. Marcin Cieslak (CAC), 50.38
6. Jose Angel Martinez (CAC), 50.46
7. Mikhail Vekovishchev (IRO), 50.47
8. Teppei Morimoto (LON), 51.60

With no Caeleb Dressel in the lineup, Tom Shields dominated the second 50 of the men’s 100 fly to win the event for the third time this season in 49.36. Shields has been as fast as 48.78 this season.

London’s Vini Lanza turned fifth at the 50 but came on strong to snag second in 50.06, edging Iron’s Nicholas Santos (50.21). Swimmers third through seventh were separated by just 26 one-hundredths.

Without Dressel, Cali scored a combined seven points with Marcin Cieslak and Jose Angel Martinez back in fifth and sixth. London’s Teppei Morimoto was the lone swimmer to get jackpotted by Shields.

Team Score Update

1. Cali Condors, 32
2. LA Current, 20
3. London Roar, 14
4. Iron, 8

Women’s 200 Back

• ISL Record: 1:59.25, Minna Atherton (AUS), 2019

1. Beata Nelson (CAC), 2:00.91
2. Kathleen Baker (LAC), 2:01.77
3. Kira Toussaint (LON), 2:03.30
4. Ingrid Wilm (LAC), 2:04.59
5. Hali Flickinger (CAC), 2:04.90
6. Minna Atherton (LON), 2:05.11
7. Africa Zamorano (IRO), 2:05.89
8. Danielle Hill (IRO), 2:10.98

Cali’s Beata Nelson rolled to her fifth victory of the season in the women’s 200 backstroke, leading from the get-go on the way to a final time of 2:00.91.

Nelson, who scored 12 points by jackpotting two swimmers, is the fastest swimmer in the ISL this season with her 2:00.55 from Match 7.

It was a positive sight for the LA Current as Kathleen Baker had her best swim of the season to place second in 2:01.77, flying past London’s Kira Toussaint (2:03.30) on the last 50.

Toussaint was third, while Ingrid Wilm made it a 2-4 for LA as she came back from seventh at the 150 to take fourth in 2:04.59, thanks to a blistering 30.32 last 50.

Men’s 200 Back

• ISL Record: 1:46.37, Evgeny Rylov (RUS), 2020

1. Christian Diener (LON), 1:49.04
2. Ryan Murphy (LAC), 1:49.34
3. Luke Greenbank (LON), 1:51.18
4. Lorenzo Mora (IRO), 1:51.21
5. Apostolos Christou (LAC), 1:51.80
6. Coleman Stewart (CAC), 1:51.87
7. Robert Glinta (IRO), 1:52.08
8. Brodie Williams (CAC), 1:52.57

In a massive swing from last week, London outscores LA in a male backstroke event as Christian Diener went out hard and held on for dear life, managing to keep Ryan Murphy at bay down the stretch as he won the 200 back for the second time this season in 1:49.04.

Murphy, who was second in 1:49.34, swept the men’s backstroke events last week, which was a key for the Current in their victory over London. Murphy was also almost a full second slower than last week (1:48.43), which could be a bad sign for the Current.

Adding insult to injury for LA was London going 1-3, as Luke Greenbank out-touched Iron’s Lorenzo Mora by .03 to take third in 1:51.18.

London is still trailing LA by five points, however.

Team Score Update

1. Cali Condors, 52
2. LA Current, 43
3. London Roar, 38
4. Iron, 15

Women’s 200 Breast

• ISL Record: 2:15.56, Lilly King (USA), 2020

1. Lilly King (CAC), 2:16.47
2. Annie Lazor (LON), 2:18.82
3. Emily Escobedo (CAC), 2:19.42
4. Sydney Pickrem (LON), 2:20.07
5. Jenna Strauch (IRO), 2:21.00
6. Kotryna Teterevkova (LAC), 2:21.81
7. Ida Hulkko (IRO), 2:24.32
8. Imogen Clark (LAC), 2:29.63

Lilly King remains undefeated for the season in the women’s 200 breast, winning the event for the sixth time in 2:16.47 to better her fastest showing of the season set in Match 6 (2:16.83).

King took off on the first 50, turning more than a second ahead of the rest of the field (30.32), and never looked back. She even out-split everyone else on the last 50 by more than half a second (35.71).

London’s Annie Lazor steadily made her way through the field after turning fifth at the 50, finishing a clear second in 2:18.82. Emily Escobedo (2:19.42) made it a 1-3 for Cali, giving the club 18 points on the event to extend their match lead.

Men’s 200 Breast

• ISL Record: 2:00.58, Marco Koch (GER), 2020

1. Erik Persson (IRO), 2:02.41
2. Nic Fink (CAC), 2:04.47
3. Christopher Rothbauer (LAC), 2:05.55
4. Ross Murdoch (LON), 2:06.54
5. Bernhard Reitshammer (IRO), 2:06.69
6. Kevin Cordes (CAC), 2:07.44
7. Javier Acevedo (LAC), 2:09.45
8. Tom Dean (LON), 2:11.12

Erik Persson provides a big morale boost for Iron as he wins the club’s first event during the playoffs, grabbing hold of the lead in the men’s 200 breaststroke on the second 50 and soaring to victory in 2:02.41.

Persson, a Swede, has now won the event five times in 2021, with this showing just off his season-best of 2:02.39 from Match 10.

Persson also got the jackpot on three swimmers, scoring 15 points.

Cali’s Nic Fink, the winner from Match 4, had a strong back-half to touch second in 2:04.47, while LA’s Christopher Rothbauer grabbed third in 2:05.55.

Women’s 4×100 Free Relay

• ISL Record: 3:25.37, Energy Standard, 2020

1. LA Current 2, 3:27.44
2. Cali Condors 1, 3:28.43
3. London Roar 1, 3:29.50
4. Iron 1, 3:31.68
5. Cali Condors 2, 3:33.24
6. LA Current 1, 3:36.16
7. London Roar, 2 3:39.36
8. Iron 2, 3:41.50

A prudent coaching move from David Marsh helped lead the LA Current to victory in the women’s 4×100 free relay—the club’s first win in the event all season.

Marsh pulled Anastasia Gorbenko out of the women’s 200 breast to swim the relay, and it paid off as she combined with Abbey Weitzeil (51.99), Madison Wilson (51.79) and Beryl Gastaldello (51.81) to win by nearly a second in 3:27.44. Gorbenko split 51.85 swimming third.

Gorbenko replaced Alyssa Marsh, who was the fourth leg of that team last match.

LA scored a massive 30 points in the event, with Cali taking second in 3:28.43 and London third in 3:29.50. The top splits for those clubs were Olivia Smoliga (51.54 anchor) and Emma McKeon (51.61 lead-off).

Men’s 50 Free

• ISL Record: 20.16, Caeleb Dressel (USA), 2020

1. Kyle Chalmers (LON), 20.97
2. Kristian Gkolomeev (LAC), 21.00
3. Caeleb Dressel (CAC), 21.04
4. Maxim Lobanovszkij (IRO), 21.08
5. Dylan Carter (LON) / Thom de Boer (IRO), 21.09
6. –
7. Jesse Puts (CAC), 21.26
8. Maxime Rooney (LAC), 21.52

Kyle Chalmers gave Caeleb Dressel in his return race to the ISL, as the Australian upended the American in the men’s 50 freestyle with a winning time of 20.97.

“It’s nice to get one up on him,” Chalmers said in a post-match interview regarding the win over Dressel.

Chalmers, a member of the London Roar, wins the event for the third time this season, having hit his fastest time of 20.80 at Match 8.

Dressel actually ended up third in 21.04, as LA’s Kristian Gkolomeev got him at the wall in 21.00. Dressel had won the event twice early in the regular season, clocking 20.86 in Match 2 and 20.67 in Match 4.

Women’s 50 Free

• ISL Record: 23.08, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 2021

1. Abbey Weitzeil (LAC), 23.90
2. Emma McKeon (LON) / Ranomi Kromowidjojo (IRO), 23.91
3. –
4. Erika Brown (CAC), 24.02
5. Melanie Henique (IRO), 24.03
6. Madison Wilson (LAC), 24.23
7. Maaike de Waard (CAC), 24.38
8. Freya Anderson (LON), 24.51

The women’s 50 free was a true nail-biter with just 13 one-hundredths separating the top five finishers. LA’s Abbey Weitzeil got the job done for her fourth victory of the season in 23.90, narrowly out-touching London’s Emma McKeon and Iron’s Ranomi Kromowidjojo, who tied for second in 23.91.

This was actually Weitzeil’s slowest winning time of the season, having been 23.83, 23.63 and 23.44 in her previous victories.

Team Score Update

1. Cali Condors, 114
2. LA Current, 101
3. London Roar, 85
4. Iron, 65

Men’s 200 IM

• ISL Record: 1:50.76, Daiya Seto (JPN), 2019

1. Duncan Scott (LON), 1:52.35
2. Vini Lanza (LON) / Leonardo Santos (IRO), 1:54.14
3. –
4. Abrahm DeVine (LAC), 1:55.18
5. Jose Angel Martinez (CAC), 1:55.56
6. Javier Acevedo (LAC), 1:56.21
7. Erik Persson (IRO), 1:57.35
8. Tomas Peribonio (CAC), 1:57.39

Duncan Scott cruised to victory in the men’s 200 IM for the London Roar, clocking 1:52.35 to improve his previous-fastest winning time from the season of 1:52.63 (Match 3).

The Roar ended up going 1-2 (sort of) as Vini Lanza tied with Iron’s Leonardo Santos for the runner-up spot in 1:54.14, bringing the Roar within 5.5 points of LA in the race for second.

Team Score Update

1. Cali Condors, 118
2. LA Current, 109
3. London Roar, 103.5
4. Iron, 71.5

Women’s 200 IM

• ISL Record: 2:03.93, Yui Ohashi (JPN), 2020

1. Sydney Pickrem (LON), 2:05.29
2. Beata Nelson (CAC), 2:06.46
3. Maria Ugolkova (IRO), 2:07.02
4. Anastasia Gorbenko (LAC), 2:09.20
5. Katie Shanahan (LON), 2:09.21
6. Helena Gasson (LAC), 2:09.90
7. Africa Zamorano (IRO), 2:11.10
8. Hali Flickinger (CAC), 2:12.30

Sydney Pickrem won the women’s 200 IM for London for the third time this season and sxith of her career, using a 35.56 breast split to take down Cali’s Beata Nelson by over a second in 2:05.29.

Nelson took second in 2:06.46, while Maria Ugolkova was a clear third for Iron in 2:07.02.

With Pickrem’s win, London overtakes LA for second and are just 5.5 points off the lead.

Team Score Update

1. Cali Condors, 125
2. London Roar, 119.5
3. LA Current, 117
4. Iron, 717.5

Men’s 50 Breast

• ISL Record: 25.29, Emre Sakci (TUR), 2020

1. Bernhard Reitshammer (IRO), 26.10
2. Nic Fink (CAC), 26.35
3. Christopher Rothbauer (LAC), 26.67
4. Sam Williamson (LON), 26.75
5. Ross Murdoch (LON), 26.98
6. Kevin Cordes (CAC), 27.34
7. Erik Persson (IRO), 27.55
8. Hector Ruvalcaba Cruz (LAC), 28.04

The Iron men continue to show out in breaststroke as Bernard Reitshammer earns the upset win in the 50 in a time of 26.10, giving him his first event victory of the season.

Reitshammer earned a 15-point jackpot for his efforts, with London the only club getting both of their swimmers to score.

Cali’s Nic Fink took second in 26.35, narrowly holding the Condors’ overall lead for the time being.

Women’s 50 Breast

• ISL Record: 28.77, Lilly King (USA), 2020

1. Lilly King (CAC), 29.36
2. Alia Atkinson (LON), 29.54
3. Ida Hulkko (IRO), 29.84
4. Imogen Clark (LAC), 29.86
5. Kotryna Teterevkova (LAC), 30.37
6. Emily Escobedo (CAC), 30.60
7. Annie Lazor (LON), 30.72
8. Jenna Strauch (IRO), 30.83

Lilly King edged out Alia Atkinson in the women’s 50 breaststroke, making her the winningest swimmer in the event this season. King has now won it four times, while Atkinson and Aqua Centurion Arianna Castiglioni both have three.

King clocked in at 29.36, with her fastest showing this year coming back in Match 4 (29.15). She also picked up a 15-point jackpot to further insulate Cali’s spot atop the standings for the time being.

Atkinson, whose fastest winning time this season is 29.47, was less than a tenth off of that in 29.54.

Iron’s Ida Hulkko, the Play-In Match winner in this event, rounded out the podium.

Men’s 4×100 Free Relay

• ISL Record: 3:02.78, Energy Standard, 2020

1. London Roar, 3:04.55
2. LA Current, 3:06.15
3. Cali Condors, 3:08.19
4. Iron, 3:09.00
5. LA Current, 3:10.13
6. Iron, 3:11.39
7. London Roar, 3:18.72
8. Cali Condors, 3:18.83

A scorching 45.53 lead-off from Kyle Chalmers propelled the London Roar to a decisive win in the men’s 4×100 free relay, as the club clocked 3:04.55 to mark the fastest time of the season.

Joined by Katsumi Nakamura (46.63), Zac Incerti (46.49) and Dylan Carter (45.90), Chalmers and the Roar managed to jackpot four teams and put up 38 points, launching themselves into the overall lead by 14.5 points.

The Current placed second in 3:06.15, with a 45.98 split from Apostolos Christou, while Cali struggled to third in 3:08.19, with Dressel splitting a relatively poor 47.26 on the anchor.

Team Score Update

1. London Roar, 171.5
2. Cali Condors, 157
3. LA Current, 146
4. Iron, 108.5

Women’s 50 Back

• ISL Record: 25.60, Kira Toussaint (NED), 2020

1. Kira Toussaint (LON), 25.99
2. Ingrid Wilm (LAC), 26.31
3. Olivia Smoliga (CAC), 26.32
4. Kathleen Baker (LAC), 26.34
5. Melanie Henique (IRO), 26.51
6. Maaike de Waard (CAC), 26.57
7. Silvia Scalia (IRO), 26.58
8. Minna Atherton (LON), 26.92

It was business as usual for Kira Toussaint in the women’s 50 backstroke, winning the event for the fifth time this season in 25.99.

Toussaint, who has been as fast as 25.91 in the ISL this year, gives the Roar four wins in the last six events to widen their gap in the team race.

LA’s Ingrid Wilm, who actually tied with Toussaint for the win in Match 8, placed second in 26.31, edging Cali’s Olivia Smoliga (26.32).

Men’s 50 Back

• ISL Record: 22.54, Ryan Murphy (USA), 2020

1. Ryan Murphy (LAC), 22.63
2. Christian Diener (LON), 22.84
3. Guilherme Guido (LON), 22.93
4. Guilherme Basseto (IRO), 23.07
5. Coleman Stewart (CAC), 23.24
6. Lorenzo Mora (IRO), 23.56
7. Abrahm DeVine (LAC), 24.45
8. Brodie Williams (CAC), 24.77

Ryan Murphy rebounded in a big way after falling to Christian Diener in the 50 back earlier, winning the men’s 50 backstroke in a blazing-fast time of 22.63.

Murphy’s time is just .03 off the fastest we’ve seen in the ISL this season and .09 off his league record set last year.

Diener (22.84) and London teammate Guilherme Guido (22.93) took second and third for the Roar, which, along with Murphy’s 15-point jackpot win, all of a sudden bumps the Condors down into third place.

Team Score Update

1. London Roar, 194.5
2. LA Current, 173
3. Cali Condors, 170
4. Iron, 119.5

Women’s 400 Free

• ISL Record: 3:54.06, Katie Ledecky (USA), 2019

1. Hali Flickinger (CAC), 4:00.82
2. Freya Anderson (LON), 4:00.85
3. Valentine Dumont (LAC), 4:03.52
4. Barbora Seemanova (IRO), 4:04.98
5. Kathrin Demler (CAC), 4:06.85
6. Madison Wilson (LAC), 4:08.32
7. Katie Shanahan (LON), 4:08.44
8. Costanza Cocconcelli (IRO), 4:09.11

Hali Flickinger and Freya Anderson, who were both coming off of eighth-place finishes in their last individual events, had a phenomenal battle in the women’s 400 freestyle, with Flickinger ultimately picking up her first win of the season (this is her debut match) in a time of 4:00.82.

Flickinger got the job done with a 28.55 final 50, and almost even-split the event (1:59.97/2:00.85).

Anderson was just .03 back in 4:00.85, and having grabbed the extra checkpoint points, actually outscored Flickinger, 13-9.

LA’s Valentine Dumont was third in 4:03.52, helping keep the club ahead of Cali in the team race.

Men’s 400 Free

• ISL Record: 3:35.49, Danas Rapsys (LTU), 2020

1. Duncan Scott (LON), 3:39.11
2. Fernando Scheffer (LAC), 3:42.02
3. Eddie Wang (CAC), 3:42.20
4. Townley Haas (CAC), 3:42.63
5. Luiz Altamir Melo (IRO), 3:43.27
6. Tom Dean (LON), 3:45.87
7. Martin Malyutin (LAC), 3:46.40
8. Leonardo Santos (IRO), 3:57.21

Duncan Scott went wire-to-wire in the men’s 400 freestyle, winning the race for a third time this season in 3:39.11 while scoring 19 points for the London Roar.

Despite being a scorching 1:45.48 at the 200, Scott held things together well down the stretch, holding all of his 50s between 28.2 and 28.6.

LA’s Fernando Scheffer (3:42.02) edged the Cali duo of Eddie Wang (3:42.20) and Townley Haas (3:42.63) for second, keeping the Current ahead of the Condors in the team race.

Meanwhile, Scott’s win launches London into a 35.5-point lead.

Team Score Update

1. London Roar, 233.5
2. LA Current, 198
3. Cali Condors, 194
4. Iron, 136.5

Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

• ISL Record: 3:44.52, Cali Condors, 2020

1. London Roar, 3:46.28
2. Cali Condors, 3:47.44
3. LA Current, 3:49.26
4. Cali Condors, 3:50.49
5. Iron, 3:51.79
6. LA Current, 3:53.36
7. London Roar, 3:56.19
8. Iron, 3:57.24

The London Roar continues their romp through the opening day of this match, handing the Cali Condors their first loss of the season in the women’s 400 medley relay and scoring 30 points to extend the overall lead.

Kira Toussaint got the team out to the early lead in 56.28, and Alia Atkinson (1:03.53) out-split Lilly King (1:03.59) to hold the Roar lead heading into the butterfly.

Kelsi Dahlia inched Cali in front with a 55.53 fly split, but Emma McKeon dropped a 50.67 anchor leg to give London the decisive win in a time of 3:46.28.

Cali was second in 3:47.44, scoring 14 points, and their other squad added 10 points to help move them past LA in the team race.

The Current took third in 3:49.26, but their ‘B’ foursome was among the teams jackpotted by London.

Men’s 4×100 Medley Relay

• ISL Record: 3:18.28, Energy Standard, 2020

1. Cali Condors, 3:22.44
2. London Roar, 3:23.23
3. LA Current, 3:23.33
4. London Roar, 3:24.57
5. Iron, 3:25.40
6. LA Current, 3:26.06
7. Iron, 3:27.29
8. Cali Condors, 3:29.70

The Cali Condors picked up the win in the men’s 4×100 medley relay over London and LA, but it was the Roar who emerge with the most points and the opportunity to select the skins stroke thanks to their fourth-place ‘B’ squad.

Cali was well back in sixth after the backstroke, but Nic Fink (56.58) had the field’s fastest breast split to move them into second, and then Caeleb Dressel (49.60) and Justin Ress (45.79) finished things off for a final time of 3:22.44. The Condors are the fastest team in the league this year at 3:20.68, done in Match 4.

London had Guilherme Guido post the top backstroke split in 49.29, and Kyle Chalmers (50.03) swam fly and Dylan Carter (45.86) provided a strong anchor leg as they out-touched the Current by a tenth, 3:23.23 to 3:23.33.

For LA, Tom Shields notably threw down a sizzling 48.83 fly split.

Team Scores – Thru Day 1

1. London Roar, 287.5
2. Cali Condors, 238.0
3. LA Current, 228.0
4. Iron, 156.5

SKINS PICKS

Women: Backstroke

• LA Current eliminates butterfly
• Cali Condors eliminate freestyle
• London Roar selects backstroke

Men: Backstroke

• LA Current eliminates freestyle
• Cali Condors eliminate butterfly
• London Roar selects backstroke