2021 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – PLAY-OFFS MATCH 2
- Saturday, November 13th – Sunday, November 14th
- 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
- Teams Competing: London Roar, Toronto Titans, Aqua Centurions, LA Current
- Match 2 Preview
- Omega Live Results
- Entries
Team scores after Day 1
- London Roar – 280.5
- LA Current – 246.0
- Toronto Titans – 231.5
- Aqua Centurions – 138.0
The London Roar hold the lead heading into day 2 of the second ISL Season 3 playoff match, though the LA Current and Toronto Titans are still well within striking range. London won the right to pick the stroke for both skins races after Day 1, picking butterfly for the men and breaststroke for the women. The session starts at 1 PM EST.
On Day 1, LA was bolstered by the return of American backstroker Ryan Murphy, who who won the 200 and 50 back in his first races since Tokyo and will look to sweep the backstrokes with the 100 today. London was a perfect four for four on the relays yesterday and figures to be the favorite heading into the mixed relay today. High school phenom Summer McIntosh returned for the Toronto Titans and won the 400 free handily yesterday and still has two events left to swim today.
Women’s 100 free
Top 8 finishers
- Emma McKeon (LON): 51.28
- Abbey Weitzeil (LAC): 51.85
- Kasia Wasick (TOR): 51.87
- Madison Wilson (LAC): 51.88
- Michelle Coleman (TOR): 52.53
- Freya Anderson (LON): 53.02
- Silvia di Pietro (AQC): 53.15
- Lindon Munoz del Campo (AQC): 53.45
Australian Emma McKeon started the day off strong for the Roar, taking the 100 free in 51.28, well ahead of second place Abbey Weitzeil. Mckeon held a slim lead at the 50, but pulled away in the second half of the race to easily take the win. McKeon also jackpotted one point from 8th place Lindon Munoz del Campo.
LA Current’s Abbey Weitzeil went out with McKeon and faded down the stretch but was able to hold on for the silver, just outtouching Toronto’s Kasia Wasick 51.85 to 51.87. Also close in that fray was LAC’s Madison Wilson, who touched fourth in 51.88.
Men’s 100 free
Top 8 finishers:
- Kyle Chalmers (LON): 46.30
- Vladislav Grinev (AQC): 46.37
- Maxime Rooney (LAC): 46.74
- Brett Pinfold (LAC): 46.82
- Alessandro Miressi (AQC): 46.90
- Lorenzo Zazzeri (TOR): 47.17
- Uri Kisil (TOR): 47.35
- Tom Dean (LON): 48.18
The Roar’s Aussie contingent made it a clean sweep of the 100 free, with Kyle Chalmers stopping the clock in 46.30. That time is well off of his lifetime best and World Record of 44.84, which he set just last month in Kazan.
Touching in second was AQC’s Vladislav Grinev, who finished just behind Chalmers in 46.37. The LA Current completed a 3-4 finish with Maxime Rooney touching in 3rd in 46.74 and Brett Pinfold finishing in 46.82 for fourth.
Women’s 200 fly
Top 8 finishers:
- Laura Stephens (TOR): 2:05.37
- Summer McIntosh (TOR): 2:07.02
- Ilaria Bianchi (LON): 2:07.75
- Helena Gasson (LAC): 2:07.87
- Alessia Polieri (AQC): 2:09.60
- Anna Ntountounaki (LAC): 2:09.99
- Laura Taylor (AQC): 2:10.26
- Laura Lahtinen (LON): 2:10.65
After a weak showing in the 100 free, the Toronto Titans showed up in a big way in the women’s 200 fly, with Laura Stephens taking her first-ever ISL victory in 2:05.37. Her teenage teammate Summer McIntosh touched in 2nd in 2:07.02 to complete a dominant Titan showing. For her efforts, Stephens also jackpotted the 7th and 8th place points.
Touching in third was Ilaria Bianchi of the London Road, who was able to hold off a charging Helena Gasson, 2:07.75 to 2:07.87.
Men’s 200 fly
Top 8 finishers:
- Teppei Morimoto (LON): 1:51.80
- Alberto Razzetti (TOR): 1:51.81
- Tom Shields (LAC): 1:51.99
- Leonardo de Deus (AQC): 1:52.47
- Max Litchfield (TOR): 1:54.38
- Vini Lanza (LON): 1:54.40
- Matteo Ciampi (AQC): 1:54.82
- Hector Cruz Ruvalcabra (LAC): 1:55.31
London’s Teppei Morimoto mounted a comeback victory in the men’s 200 fly, posting a blistering 28.43 on the final 50 to pass both Alberto Razzetti and Tom Shields to take the win in 1:51.80.
Razzetti, who is coming off a strong showing at last week’s Short Course Euro’s touched just .01 behind in 1:51.81 to take second place points for the Titans. LAC”s Tom Shields, who posted the field’s fastest third 50 split, was able to hang on for third in 1:51.99.
Team scores after men’s 200 fly
- LON: 321.5
- LAC: 284
- TOR: 276.5
- AQC: 162
Women’s 100 back
Top 8 finishers:
- Ingrid Wilm (LAC): 55.78
- Kira Toussaint (LON): 55.81
- Kylie Masse (TOR): 56.01
- Kathleen Baker (LAC): 56.32
- Minna Atherton (LON): 57.19
- Lisa Bratton (TOR): 57.39
- Holly Barratt (AQC): 58.47
- Elena di Liddo (AQC): 59.58
In a stacked women’s 100 back, including former LCM World Record holders Kyle Masse and Kathleen Baker and current SCM World Record holder Minna Atherton, it was LA Current’s Ingrid Wilm who came away with the upset win. Wilm touched in first in 55.78, jackpotting this 7th and 8th place points from the Aqua Centurions.
London Roar’s Kira Toussaint, who swept all three backstroke races at last week’s SC Euro’s touched just behind Wilm in 55.81 to take the silver. Toronot’s Kylie Masse finished in 3rd in 56.01, while the current World Record holder Atherton fell all the way to 5th, well 0ff her World Record of 54.89.
Men’s 100 back
Top 8 finishers:
- Ryan Murphy (LAC): 49.49
- Guilherme Guido (LON): 49.66
- Apostolos Christou (LAC): 50.03
- Christian Diener (LON): 50.28
- Simone Sabbioni (AQC): 51.31
- Shane Ryan (TOR): 51.78
- Fabio Santi (AQC): 53.57
- Tobias Bjerg (TOR): 1:05.44
LA Current’s Ryan Murphy completed the backstroke sweep, winning the 100 in 49.49. He touched just ahead of London Roar’s Guilherme Guido, who touched in 49.66.
The Current also got a third place finish from Apostolos Christou, who touched in 50.03.
Toronto’s Tobias Bjerg was notably lagging in the heat, touching in 8th in 1:05.44. The Titans have been crushed by injury and having a swimmer enter regardless of time results at worst in -1 points, while an empty lane results in -4.
Women’s 100 IM
Top 8 finishers:
- Maria Kameneva (AQC): 58.15
- Beryl Gastaldello (LAC): 58.24
- Anastasia Gorbenko (LAC): 58.34
- Louise Hansson (TOR): 58.72
- Kayla Sanchez (TOR): 58.75
- Sydney Pickrem (LON): 58.92
- Rika Omoto (AQC): 59.24
- Jenna Laukkanen (LON): 1:00.68
AQC’s Maria Kameneva picked up the win in the women’s 100 IM in 58.15, touching just ahead of the LA Current’s 58.24. Kameneva’s swim was good enough to jackpot Jenna Laukkanen’s 8th place points.
LA also picked up a third place finish from Israeli Anastasia Gorbenko, who touched in 58.24. THe 1-3 finish paired with a soft London contingent helps tighten the team race.
Men’s 100 IM
Top 8 finishers:
- Thomas Ceccon (AQC): 51.85
- Duncan Scott (LON): 52.09
- Javier Acevedo (LAC): 52.21
- Abrahm Devine (LAC): 52.55
- Fabio Scozzoli (AQC): 52.91
- Tobias Bjerg (TOR): 54.90
- Luke Greenbank (LON): 55.28
- Yuri Kisil (TOR): 1:03.99
The Aqua Centurions sweep the 100 IMs, with Italian Thomas Ceccon taking the win in 51.85. Ceccon also jackpotted the 6th-8th place points.
Touching in second was Duncan Scott of the London Roar in 52.09, just holding off LA Current’s Javier Acevedo, who touched third in 52.21. For the second men’s event in a row, the Toronto Titans had a laggard in the heat to avoid a -4 no show penalty. Yuri Kisil touched in 8th in 1:03.99
Team scores through men’s 100 IM
- LON: 353.5
- LAC: 346
- TOR: 291.5
- AQC: 196
Women’s 100 breast
Top 8 finishers:
- Alia Atkinson (LON): 1:03.58
- Martina Carraro (AQC): 1:04.63
- Annie Lazor (LON): 1:04.83
- Kotryna Teterevkova (LAC): 1:05.01
- Imogen Clark (LAC): 1:05.89
- Dominika Sztandera (TOR): 1:06.62
- Kelsey Wog (TOR): 1:07.71
- Laura Taylor (AQC): 1:20.36
Veteran and World Record holder Alia Atkinson put up a huge swim in the 100 breast to take the win by over a full second in 1:03.58. She also jackpotted the 6th-8th place points to take home 15 points for the Roar.
Touching in second was the Aqua Centurion’s Martina Carraro in 1:04.63, while London’s Annie Lazor finished in 3rd in 1:04.83.
In what is beginning to look like a theme in this session, AQC’s Laura Taylor finished over half a pool behind the rest of the heat in 8th in 1:20.36.
Men’s 100 breast
Top 8 finishers:
- Arno Kamminga (AQC): 56.31
- Nicolo Martinenghi (AQC): 56.37
- Fabian Schwingenschlogl (TOR): 56.80
- Anton McKee (TOR): 57.53
- Christopher Rothbauer (LAC): 58.25
- Sam Williamson (LON): 58.52
- Ross Murdoch (LON): 59.24
- Brett Pinfold (LAC): 59.30
A week after going head to head as rivals at the short course Euro’s, Arno Kamminga and Nicola Martinenghi teamed up for a 1-2 Aqua Centurion finish in the men’s 100 breast. Kamminga touched first in 56.31 and jackpotted the 7th and 8th place points, while Martinenghi touched jsut behind him in 2nd in 56.37.
Toronto grabbed a 3-4 finish courtesy of a pair of former NCAA stars in Fabian Schwingenschlogl and Anton McKee.
Women’s 50 fly
Top 8 finishers:
- Holly Barratt (AQC): 25.31
- Anna Ntountounaki (LAC): 25.43
- Silvia di Pietro (AQC): 25.55
- Louise Hansson (TOR): 25.61
- Beryl Gastaldello (LAC): 25.64
- Marie Wattel (LON): 25.65
- Kira Toussaint (LON): 26.06
- Michelle Coleman (TOR): 26.11
Holly Barratt makes it two event wins in a row for the Aqua Centurions, as she touched the wall first in the 50nfly in 25.31. Coming in just behind her was the LA Current’s Anna Ntountounaki in 25.43.
AQC also grabbed a third place finished courtesy of Silvia di Pietro’s 25.55.
Men’s 50 fly
Top 8 finishers:
- Tom Shields (LAC): 22.51
- (TIE): Dylan Carter (LON)/ Matteo Rivolta (AQC): 22.52
- —-
- Marius Kusch (TOR): 22.72
- (TIE): Kyle Chalmers (LON)/ Thomas Ceccon (AQC): 22.73
- —
- Ryan Murphy (LAC): 22.93
- Grigori Pekarski (TOR): 22.94
After finishing 3rd in the 200 fly earlier, LA Current’s Tom Shields returned to claim victory in the 50 fly in 22.51. He touched just ahead of London’s Dylan Carter and the Aqua Centurion’s Matteo Rivolta, who tied for 2nd just .01 behind Shields in 22.52.
Backstroke World Record holder Ryan Murphy took on a different challenge here in the 50 fly, touching in 7th for the Current in 22.93.
Team scores after men’s 50 fly:
- LON: 392.5
- LA: 381
- TOR: 314.5
- AQC: 246
Women’s 200 free
Top 8 finishers:
- Freya Anderson (LON): 1:53.00
- Madison Wilson (LAC): 1:53.23
- Kayla Sanchez (TOR): 1:54.27
- Emma McKeon (LON): 1:54.67
- Federica Pellegrini (AQC): 1:54.79
- Valentine Dumont (LAC): 1:55.91
- Holly Hibbott (AQC): 1:57.43
- Julia Hasler (TOR): 1:58.30
The Roar’s Freya Anderson took home the women’s 200 free, holding off a late challenge from LA’s Madi Wilson 1:53.00 to 1:53.23. Anderson’s win comes as a bit of an upset, with teammate and 100 free winner Emma Mckeon finishing all the way back in 4th in 1:54.67.
London and LA have started to put distance between themselves and Toronto, making it pretty clearly a two team race heading down the stretch of Day 2.
Men’s 200 free
Top 8 finishers:
- Luc Kroon (TOR): 1:43.48
- Vladislav Grinev (AQC): 1:43.61
- Breno Correia (LAC): 1:43.64
- Zac Incerti (LON): 1:43.83
- Fernando Scheffer (LAC): 1:44.07
- Matteo Ciampi (AQC): 1:44.37
- Tom Dean (LON): 1:45.34
- Yuri Kisil (TOR): 1:46.66
Toronto’s Luc Kroon, who is coming off a stellar SC Euro’s meet last weekend, took the men’s 200 free in 1:43.48 after charging home in 25.43 in the final 50. He touched just ahead of AQC’s Vladislav Grinev, who touched in second in 1:43.61.
The LA Current picked up a 3-5 finish with Breno Correia’s 1:43.64 and Fernando Scheffer’s 1:44.07.
Mixed 4×100 medley relay
Top 8 finishers:
- LAC A: 3:34.70
- TOR A: 3:36.41
- AQC A: 3:36.53
- LON A: 3:36.85
- LAC B: 3:36.94
- AQC B: 3:39.08
- TOR B: 3:40.07
- LON B: 3:41.33
The LA Current used a pair of great back half splits to take the win in the mixed medley relay in 3:34.70. Flyer Maxime Rooney split 49.85 and Abbey Weitzeil anchored in 51.34 to lead the Current to victory.
In a tight race for second, Toronto came out on top in 3:36.41. AQC’s A, LON’s A and LAC’s B were all within a half second of the second place finish. The Current now take the lead heading into the 400 IMs courtesy of their 1-5 finish in the relay.
Team scores after mixed medley relay
- LAC: 429
- LON: 424.5
- TOR: 348.5
- AQC: 280
Women’s 400 IM
Top 8 finishers:
- Summer McIntosh (TOR): 4:27.87
- Tess Cieplucha (TOR): 4:30.04
- Sydney Pickrem (LON): 4:30.10
- Rika Omoto (AQC): 4:35.30
- Katie Shanahan (LON): 4:36.04
- Helena Gasson (LAC): 4:39.51
- Alessia Polieri (AQC): 4:45.05
- Kotryna Teterevkova (LAC): 4:51.13
After winning the 400 free yesterday, Summer McIntosh returned to win the 400 IM in dominant fashion. McIntosh was out quick, over 5 seconds ahead of the field at the halfway point. That lead proved to be insurmountable as she touched in first in 4:27.87. She also jackpotted the 6th-8th place finishers and earned 8 bonus points for leading at the halfway points, meaning McIntosh took home 24 points for the Titans.
Behind McIntosh was a battle between former SEC/NCAA rivals Tess Cieplucha of Toronto and Sydney Pickrem of London. Cieplucha came out on top by just .06 to Pickrem’s 4:30.10.
Men’s 400 IM
Top 8 finishers:
- Illia Borodin (AQC): 4:01.75
- Duncan Scott (LON): 4:02.83
- Alberto Razzetti (TOR): 4:05.02
- Max Litchfield (TOR): 4:05.07
- Abrahm Devine (LAC): 4:06.43
- Hector Cruz Ruvalcabra (LAC): 4:11.25
- Luke Greenbank (LON): 4:13.14
- Leornardo de Deus (AQC): 4:16.03
The Aqua Centurions won the final event before the skins, with Illia Brodin touching first in 4:01.75. London’s Duncan Scott made a charge during the freestyle but ran out of room and touched in second in 4:02.83.
The LA Current put up a weak showing in the 400 IM and will have ground to make up in the skins if they want to take the match win.
Team scores heading into skins
- LON: 449.5
- LAC: 435
- TOR: 393.5
- AQC: 309
Women’s 50 breast skins
Round 1:
Advancing to round 2: Gorbenko (LAC), Clark (LAC), Atkinson (LON), Carraro (AQC)
The Current needed a big showing in the skins to bump ahead of the London Roar for the match title and so far they are off to a great start, putting both Imogen Clark and Anastasia Gorbenko into round 2 of the 50 breast skins. They will be joined by the Roar’s Alia Atkinson and AQC’s Martina Carraro.
Round 2:
Advancing to final: Gorbenko (LAC), Atkinson (LON)
As has been the case for most of the meet, it will be a Current vs. Roar showdown in the 50 breast skins final. It will also be youth vs. experience, as the teenager Anastasia Gorbenko will take on the 32 year old Atkinson.
Final:
- Anastasia Gorbenko (LAC): 30.55
- Alia Atkinson (LON): 30.58
The Current make a huge move in the women’s skins thanks to Anatsasia Gorbenko’s win. She just outtouched the veteran Atkinson by .03 to secure 14 points for the Current. The Current now take the lead by 12.5 points heading into the men’s 50 fly skins.
Team scores after women’s skins:
- LAC: 482
- LON: 469.5
- TOR: 395.5
- AQC: 324
Men’s 50 fly skins
Round 1:
Advancing to round 2: Chalmers (LON), Carter (LON), Shields (LAC), Rivolta (AQC)
After taking a punch in the the women’s skins, the London Roar struck back in the first round of the men’s skins by placing both Kyle Chalmers and Dylan Carter into round 2 of the men’s 50 fly skins. They will be joined by LAC’s Tom Shields and AQC’s Matteo Rivolta.
Round 2:
Advancing to final: Shields (LAC), Rivolta (AQC)
Both of the Roar’s round 2 contestants will be shut out of the final, with Tom Shields and Matteo Rivolata advancing. The result secures a match victory for the LA Current.
Final:
- Matteo Rivolta (AQC): 23.39
- Tom Shields (LAC): 23.84
Aqua Centurion’s Metteo Rivolta takes the title in the men’s 50 fly skins in 23.39, but Shield’s efforts are enough to secure a playoff Match 2 victory for the LA Current.
FINAL TEAM SCORES
- LAC: 506
- LON: 494.5
- TOR: 398.5
- AQC: 357
Tom Effin Shields
Mexican national SC record in 400 IM for Héctor Ruvalcaba, now he has both, long course and short course 🇲🇽💪🏼
Steve needs some help on math?
Stone Cold?
After pondering on this for a while, this actually might be the best outcome for the Roar.
If Roar had won this match, LA is almost certainly out of the final and Toronto is in. After this match, LA is almost certainly in and Toronto is out (unless Roar continues to lose and Toronto takes their spot).
I think LA in the final is actually better for Roar because they will be more likely to sap points from Cali/Energy, whereas Toronto is actually more of a point sap for Roar. For example:
W100 fly: Likely to be won by Dahlia or Sjostrom, and Toronto would likely get jackpotted (JP) but LA won’t.
M100 fly: Dressel is winning this 1000%, and… Read more »
m Back ENS has a better shot than Cali For sweep
If Rylov picks it up then maybe. But Cali beat Energy in 2/3 backstroke races last match.
What if two teams tie in terms of team score, like both LA and Toronto get 8 points? It’s very likely this will happe.
They do a points countback of matches Toronto and LA competed against each other and LA wins.
I agree. And this is one of the problems I have with ISL: the winner can change depending on things completely out of their control.
Say you have Cali and Energy as the top 2 teams of the season in the final, and you can slot any other two teams in the other two slots: There would be a number of team combos that Energy would win, and a number of combos that Cali would win. Jackpot points mean that certain races, possibly won by 0.01, instead of just a 2 point difference between first and second, could potentially be a 20 point difference. Then you have skins, which every team is going to have different priorities in, and… Read more »
Maybe they are copping expenses & telling team management to make it happen .
Wow, the Roar really just threw that one away, didn’t they? It seems like the majority of their team swam significantly slower than they’re capable of.
Kyle’s 100 free (despite winning) was more than 1.5 secs off his record from a few weeks ago, with Tom Dean finishing last by a solid margin. Kira and Minna both way off their best in the 100 back. Wattel and Kira went 6-7 in the 50 fly. Emma’s 200 free and her 100 free relay split were both significantly slower than even her LCM times. Tom Dean’s 200 free was more than a second off his LCM time. He just came 7th in the event he is Olympic champion for.
I hope this… Read more »
How about LA Current just was stronger than them in this meet? No one is “throwing away” anything. LA Current won fair and square.
No one said that LA current didn’t win fairly. All I’m saying is that London would have easily won if not for a long series of major underperformances.
If London had swam to their potential they would have won and it wouldn’t have even been close. That’s not an insult to LA, it’s just a fact.
London lost it on the touch, with some bad finishes and bad luck. But also some really poor racing. Dean was meant to be a stud, he’s probably cost them slightly by being selected in place of Scott(200Fr) or Nakamura(100Fr). Good to see Anderson back swimming well, her form will add value as will Pickrem in 400IM.
LA swam very well on Day 2, and deserved to win. Murphy returning is huge and if Hvas comes back in the form he left ESC then London may struggle to edge them at all.
Roar put Tom Dean in 200free to save Duncan for 4IM. Maybe they should have placed Kyle in 2free instead of 50fly
Yeah I can’t disagree with that, but it wasn’t just bad touches. A number of events could have changed the outcome, even with swimmers being well off their best.
If Kyle swam a 45.4(still more than half a second off his form from a couple weeks ago) instead of a 46.3 in the 100 free, he jackpots almost the whole field and Roar wins by about 30 points.
If Atherton swam within 2 seconds of her best in the 200 back, Roar wins.
If Duncan Scott swam his Match 3 time for the 2IM, Roar wins.
If Tom Dean swam better, wouldn’t even need to be near his best, in the 200/400 Roar wins.
If Toussaint swam 0.04 faster in… Read more »
Should’ve put McKeon in 50 fly instead of 200 free and then her split in the mixed medley probably would’ve been close to a second faster. Also McKeon was probably the better skins choice too.
Absolutely. She probably does better than 4th in the 50 fly as well.
And they still would have lost by a second. lol
It’s about additional points not the individual race win.
Roar cannot really blame close races not going their way it was some of their choices on who swims what that was questionable and cost them the match. I think they wanted to try something new got a bit cocky and lost because of that. Well done to LA on a well deserved win
The time for experimentation ended in the regular season.
Agree. It was not all about close losses either. Many races Roar “stars” did not swim very well by several seconds. Congrats to LA! Well done!
And it came down to the round 2 of the skins to decide the winner, in R2 that 0.04 sec between Chalmers and Shields was the difference. If Chalmers finished ahead of him, LA would have lost the match. Wow
It actually came down to many off performances by the Roar well before the skins. It should never have been that close to begin with had Roar swam even close to potential.
I think when he says “came down to” he means “it literally wasn’t decided until then”. Of course, Roar swam well below their potential in probably almost half of the events. But it was skins that sealed their fate.
The roar got a bit complacent in some of their swims today
Agree! After Roar put huge points on board at end of day 1, many did not get the job done again today.