Battle of the Unbeatens Set for ISL Match #8

2020 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – MATCH 8

• Thursday, November 5: 4pm-6pm CET/10am-noon U.S. Eastern
• Friday, November 6: 4pm-6pm CET/10am-noon U.S. Eastern
• 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: London Roar, Tokyo Frog Kings, Cali Condors, New York Breakers

The later of the two matches running concurrently on Thursday and Friday will feature the better field of the two meets.

On paper, as has been true at so many meets this season, there appears to be a clear front-runner in this meet (Cali Condors), a fun battle for 2nd (London Roar vs. Tokyo), and a clear 4th-place team (New York Breakers).

Cali, London, and Tokyo are all ‘in’ for the semi-finals. The Breakers are ‘in’ unless DC Trident pulls an upset and moves ahead of Toronto Titans or Iron in the morning meet on Thursday and Friday.

In short: this meet doesn’t mean much in the scheme of who’s going to win the league, but there are two big team outcomes to watch for:

One is the matchup between the league’s two undefeated teams, Cali Condors and London Roar, so far. On paper, the Cali Condors, on the strength of their women, should have the advantage there. London made a huge lurch after their 2nd meet thanks to the return of swimmers like Freya Anderson, James Guy, and Holly Hibbott, who missed the team’s opener due to possible coronavirus exposure.

It doesn’t seem like London has enough to catch up to Cali, but it’s within the realm of reason.

The other is whether Tokyo can make up the 52.5 point margin that London had on them in Match #5 last week. If London comes back to earth a little after their 2nd meet surge, it’s possible, but Tokyo would need sprint star Vlad Morozov to really get back to his full strength, which he hasn’t shown in the team’s first two meets.

Here’s other battles to watch in Match #8 this week.

Takeshi Kawamoto‘s Statement Meet

Takeshi Kawamoto has been a bright spot for Tokyo throughout their first 2 meets of the season, but he has a chance to make a big statement in Match #8 when he faces Caeleb Dressel of the Cali Condors.

That’s because Kawamoto’s season best in the 50 fly of 22.28 is faster than that of Caeleb Dressel, who has only been 22.46 this season.

This meet is loaded with big-name sprinters: Dressel, Morozov, Michael Andrew. Kawamoto has a chance to build his brand among giants.

This is important because Tokyo could be in the hunt to win the men’s medley relay. (Their season-best of 3:22.62 trails only London’s 3:21.59 for the best time in this four-team field). If they can pull off the win over London, then Kawamoto gives them a path to win the ‘skins’ event via the 50 fly. That’s a path that otherwise looks tough with Andrew, Peaty, Dressel, Morozov, and a 50 backstroke group for both Cali and London probably as favorites in the 50 back.

Cali Fighting to Grab Back Women’s Medley Relay

The Cali Condors have not lost a medley relay (nor a women’s breaststroke event) in ISL history. This means Lilly King is the only swimmer who has never lost an ISL race.

That could be in jeopardy this week after the London Roar (3:47.85) put up the fastest 400 medley relay of the season last week in 3:47.85 while the Condors were idle. That’s .07 seconds better than the Condors’ season-best time.

That flip, and choice of skins that goes with it, probably isn’t enough to flip the outcome of this meet, or even a semi-final meet, but in the final, if London and Cali are both there, that could be enough for Cali. In the ‘skins’ choice and King in the breaststrokes, Cali has maybe the biggest ace card in the league. Maintaining their stranglehold on the women’s 400 medley is crucial to their title chances this season.

Men’s 100 IM Battle Royale

Dressel, Morozov, Orsi, Andrew: 4 of the best 100 IMers in the world. They’re all fast, none of them have a true weak stroke, and they should all be in the 100 IM this weekend.

While the 100 IM is not an event that gets a lot of respect globally, this might genuinely be the best single race of the ISL season so far.

Morozov has the 10 fastest performances in history in the event. Orsi ranks 8th all-time in the event, and both he and Michael Andrew are former World Champions in the event. Dressel ranks 14th all-time in the event.

The only thing that could amp this race up further would be swapping in Energy Standard with an in-form Kliment Kolesnikov and Florent Manaudou. Short of that, this race will be about as good as it gets this season.

Can Michael Andrew Continue to Build?

Michael Andrew had a rough start to the ISL season, but has gotten a little better in each meet From Match #4 to Match #6, he dropped about 3-tenths of a second in the 50 fly, 2-tenths in the 100 IM, a tenth in the 50 breast, and a tenth in the 50 back. He added 2-tenths in the 50 free.

Those are small margins, but in 50s, they’re significant. And, maybe more significantly with what we know about how he trains, is that his improvements were bigger in day 2 events than day 1 events.

It probably won’t amount to a huge jump for the Breakers that pushes them into a final, but it gives them a chance at being competitive with teams like Iron or Tokyo in the semi-finals, especially with how much potential he has in the skins events.