5 Big Things From Day 1 of ISL’s Match #8

2020 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – MATCH 8

• Thursday, November 5: 4pm-6pm CET/10am-noon U.S. Central
• Friday, November 6: 4pm-6pm CET/10am-noon 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: London Roar, Tokyo Frog Kings, Cali Condors, New York Breakers
• Full day 1 results

We’re halfway through the ISL’s match #7. Here are five big takeaways from today’s action:

1. Men’s Backstrokers Stepping Up for Cali

The Cali Condors are currently the league’s #1 team in our Power Ranks. But the story for them hasn’t really changed from last year: an elite women’s roster that can drub any team in the league. Plus a men’s roster of Caeleb Dressel and… not much else.

Seriously, Cali’s women are averaging almost 60 more points per match than any other team in the league. (London is the #2-scoring women’s roster in the league, and Cali’s women have already outscored them by 33.5 in one day of head-to-head action). But the Condor men rank #7 out of 10 teams in average men’s scoring, despite having arguably the league’s best male swimmer.

Today, though, saw a couple positive developments for the Cali men, mostly in backstroke. Radoslaw Kawecki got his third straight 200 back win, crushing the field by 1.3 seconds and moving to within a tenth of a second of the ISL lead. The bigger surprise was ISL rookie Coleman Stewart, who won a major upset in the 50 back for Cali, beating both the ISL record-holder (Guilherme Guido) and the 2020 ISL leader (Christian Diener), both from London.

2. Vekovishchev’s Two Key Relay Splits

London had some big swims of its own. Maybe the most notable were two strong relay splits from Mikhail Vekovishchev. The ISL rookie split a field-best 45.94 on the men’s free relay, even outsplitting Dressel as London took second overall. Later in the meet, Vekovishchev actually beat Dressel again, going 49.42 on fly to best Dressel’s split by .01 as London’s B relay beat Cali’s A relay.

Vekovishchev also hit a season-best 21.33 in the 50 free after going 21.6 in both matches so far. Vekovishchev might have benefitted from not swimming the 100 fly today, giving him a little more rest for his sprint freestyle races.

3. Two Individual Races Cast Doubt On Skins Decisions

Coming into the meet, we expected a women’s medley relay battle between London and Cali, with both teams probably picking between breaststroke or backstroke as their top skin race options. And we expected the London men to win the medley and probably lean towards backstroke for their skins choice.

But all of those choices got a little murkier with the results of the 50-meter stroke events today.

London won the men’s medley, as expected. But backstroke might not be as welcoming a skin selection as it appeared pre-meet. Stewart’s upset win over Guido and Diener has to weigh somewhat heavily for London. Backstroke was a combination of a strength for London and the weakest stroke for Cali skins dominator Dressel, taking away the massive advantage of his off-the-blocks start. But after today’s 50 back, London may have to consider taking their chances against Dressel – albeit in his third-best stroke – by selecting breaststroke.

Adam Peaty won the individual 50 breast today, and doesn’t really face any of the league’s top breaststroking threats like Emre Sakci, Ilya Shymanovich, or Nicolo Martinenghi in this week’s grouping.

Meanwhle the Cali women won the medley. They’ll still probably pick breaststroker after going 1-2 there today, and that decision is helped by world record-holder Alia Atkinson being a little off her game today for London. But it’s also worth noting that Lilly King had arguably her toughest test of the year today, only beating teammate Molly Hannis by a few hundredths and finishing well off her best time.

Cali has also previously picked backstroke for the skins, but after Kira Toussaint beat Olivia Smoliga in the 50 back today, that option doesn’t look as appealing. If Cali is really going to share the wealth of prize money and MVP points around the roster (and if they’re not too worried about whether they’re first or second in this meet, with a postseason berth locked up either way) they could pick butterfly, where London is relatively weak and where Kelsi Dahlia just had easily her best 100 fly of the year today.

4. Fink Returns, But Not Quite to 100%

One big question mark for Cali moving forward was men’s breaststroke, where they’ve been awful so far this year. Nic Fink has been out with injury, though, and was a force in the league last year, so hopes were still high for the team’s postseason potential.

Fink returned to action today, but he doesn’t look like himself yet. Either he’s not fully healthy, or the injury cut into his training a bit – either way, Fink was 8th in the 200 breast and 8th in the 50 breast today, with the field’s slowest 100 breast split on the medley relay.

Regardless of production, his return is very good news for Cali. Fink was the league’s #2 swimmer in the 50 breast last year, the former ISL record-holder in the 200 breast, and 4th in the league last year in the 100 breast. His ceiling as a breaststroker is clearly higher than any of the other entrants Cali has been rolling with. But getting him back to 100% – or even close to it – will be a major key to Cali’s run for the ISL title.

5. Battles of the Unbeatens

This is a pretty stacked field all-around, and we had a handful of races today between swimmers who were either unbeaten in the ISL this year or unbeaten in their ISL careers:

Lilly King (CAC) vs Alia Atkinson (LON) – 50 Breast

Heading into today, King was 6-for-6 in 50 breast wins (along with 25-for-25 in career ISL swims). Atkinson was 5-for-5 for her ISL career. Both women had won a skins race, sweeping all three rounds. It was King who stayed unbeaten today, and Atkinson finished 3rd.

Cali Condors vs London Roar – Women’s Medley Relay

The Cali Condors have never lost this relay in ISL competition. London had only lost once – to Cali in last year’s final. But London actually carried in the faster 2020 time today, setting up a nailbiter of a showdown. Cali built a big lead, and London’s late heroics weren’t quite enough, as Cali remained undefeated in this relay across two seasons.

Melanie Margalis (CAC) vs Yui Ohashi (TOK) – 200 IM

Margalis had won this event twice in 2020, and also won three of her four swims in 2019. Ohashi, an ISL rookie, was 2-for-2 in the early stages of her ISL career. Margalis won decisively today, though, beating Ohashi by nine tenths by dominating the breaststroke and freestyle legs. Margalis was just 6th and Ohashi 4th after butterfly, but they surged to the front as the race wore on.

We get a couple more battles of the unbeaten in tomorrow’s session:

• Hali Flickinger (CAC) vs Suzuka Hasegawa (TOK) – 200 fly
  • Flickinger has won five straight, stretching back to last year. Hasegawa has won her first two ISL meets and holds the ISL record.
• Olivia Smoliga (CAC) vs Kira Toussaint (LON) – 100 back
  • Both are undefeated this year, and both only lost once last year, each to world record-holder Minna Atherton
• Lilly King (CAC) vs Alia Atkinson (LON) – 100 breast
  • King is undefeated all-time, winning six straight. Atkinson hasn’t lost yet this year and only lost once last season.
• Melanie Margalis (CAC) vs Yui Ohashi (TOK) – 400 IM
  • Margalis is undefeated in her career at 5-for-5, stretching back to 2019. Ohashi has only swum in the league this year, but has won her first two swims in the 400 IM.
• Katsuhiro Matsumoto (TOK) vs Townley Haas (CAC) – 200 free
  • Like Ohashi, Matsumoto is undefeated in his rookie season. Haas won the only 200 free he’s entered this year in week 2.