International Swimming League Season 3 Playoffs Match 2: Day 1 Live Recap

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

The second match of the 2021 International Swimming League playoffs will feature the London Roar, Aqua Centurions, Toronto Titans, and the LA Current. After the Cali Condors and Energy Standard threw down a dominant 1-2 finish during the first playoff match, this meet will likely be a little bit more evenly matched.

London will surely be on the hunt for a victory here, using stars Emma McKeon, Kira Toussaint, and Kyle Chalmers to their fullest potential, but without Kirill Prigoda or Adam Peaty in the mix, have exposed a slight weakness in the men’s breaststroke events. Other teams will need to take advantage of that hole and the Aqua Centurions certainly have the manpower to do so considering their contingent of Nicolo Martinenghi, Fabio Scozolli, and Arno Kamminga who have been dominant thus far this year.

As for LA, Ryan Murphy is the biggest addition to the roster since his regular-season absence. Murphy will be hard to beat in the men’s backstroke events and will provide a lot of needed momentum for LA in order to hold off the other teams. LA will also have the likes of Ingrid Wilm, Tom Shields, Abbey Weitzeil, Madi Wilson, and many more on their side.

This meet will mark the return of the Toronto Titan’s young gun Summer McIntosh who had a stellar run in the early regular season, delivering wins in the 400 free, 400 IM, and 200 butterfly. Lorenzo Zazzeri is fresh off a solid showing at the 2021 Short Course European Championships and will but up a fight in the men’s sprints, while Kasia Wasick, Kylie Masse, Kayla Sanchez, and Michelle Coleman hold down the fort on the women’s side.

Stay tuned to catch all those swimmers and many more in action as we get into match 2 of the 2021 ISL playoffs.

Women’s 100 fly

1. McKEON Emma LON 55.57 12.0
2. HANSSON Louise TOR 56.10 7
3. NTOUNTOUNAKI Anna LAC 56.62 6
4. di LIDDO Elena AQC 56.89 5
5. GASSON Helena LAC 57.04 4
6. di PIETRO Silvia AQC 57.13 3
7. STEPHENS Laura TOR 58.23 JP
8. BIANCHI Ilaria LON 58.97 -1

Hansson trailed McKeon by only 0.14 seconds apart at the 50-meter mark but McKeon managed to keep her lead throughout the second 50 and stopped the clock with a 55.57, half a second ahead of Toronto’s Hansson. McKeon is the first person this season to beat Hansson in the 100 butterfly, putting an end to Hansson’s 4-swim win streak.

McKeon stole points from 7th place Laura Stephens of Toronto as well as teammate Ilaria Bianchi, yielding 12 points for London. Since Hansson was the only scorer for Toronto, LA actually out-scored Toronto here with their 3rd and 5th place finishes for 10 points to Toronto’s 7.

Men’s 100 fly

1. SHIELDS Tom LAC 49.47 10.0
2. RIVOLTA Matteo AQC 49.66
3. PEKARSKI Grigori TOR 50.44
4. LANZA Vini LON 50.46
5. ROONEY Maxime LAC 50.78
6. KUSCH Marius TOR 50.88
7. MORIMOTO Teppei LON 51.38
8. MIRESSI Alessandro AQC 51.58

As was the case when McKeon touched first, Tom Sheilds’ victory in the men’s 100 butterfly was an unsurprising result considering his history in the event this season. Shields placed second in the event at both matches 2 and 4 this year, but then pulled off the win at matches 8 and 9. This is his 3rd win of the season.

Matteo Rivolta was less than a quester second off Shields’ time, however, and raked in 7 points for Aqua. Additionally, he got within 0.12 seconds of his own Italian record in the event of 49.54. Rivolta’s second-place finish was important, considering that teammate Alessandro Miressi was jackpotted.

Toronto and London each had 2 scoring swimmers here but trailed LA’s dominant performance of 14-points thanks to shield and Maxime Rooney.

Women’s 200 back

1. MASSE Kylie TOR 2:01.45
2. BAKER Kathleen LAC 2:02.11
3. BRATTON Lisa TOR 2:02.29
4. WILM Ingrid LAC 2:03.49
5. ATHERTON Minna LON 2:04.46
6. PELLEGRINI Federica AQC 2:07.61
7. SHANAHAN Katie LON  2:08.16
8. POLIERI Alessia AQC 2:13.60

Toronto’s Kylie Masse decided that it was time for her team to pick up a win and rocketed to the wall with a 2:01.45 to out-touch LA’s Kathleen Baker who was a 2:02.11. The swim by Masse marks a new Canadian record in the event, stealing the mark from Taylor Ruck who held it at a 2:01.66 from back in 2017. This marks Masse’s first victory in the 200 back of the season, following 3 second-place finishes and a 3rd.

Masse managed to jackpot 3 swimmers here, none of whom were her teammates, meaning that Toronto will score 21 points overall (15 from Masse and 6 from Lisa Bratton who was third). Kathleen Baker’s second-place finish in this race marks her best performance this season, having placed 4th at both match 2 and 5.

Ingrid Wilm joined teammate Baker in the top 4 here, giving her team 5 points to bring LA’s total up to 12 for the event.

Men’s 200 back

1. MURPHY Ryan LAC 1:48.43
2. DIENER Christian LON 1:50.14
3. GREENBANK Luke LON1:52.32
4. ACEVEDO Javier LAC  1:52.78
5. LITCHFIELD Max TOR  1:53.94
6. SABBIONI Simone AQC 1:53.97
7. de DEUS Leonardo AQC 1:54.02
8.  PRATT Cole TOR DNS

Ryan Murphy is certainly back. In his first swim since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Murphy threw down a massive 200 backstroke for his LA Current with a 1:48.43, marking the fastest time in the event so far this season. Murphy’s time was nearly 2 seconds fastest than second-place finisher Christian Diener who swam a 1:50.14 and was good enough to jackpot all but the 2nd and 3rd place men.

Diener and Luke Greenbank, both of the London Roar, were the only ones who retained their points while both Aqua swimmers and Toronto’s Max Litchfield got their points stolen. Notably, Cole Pratt was absent from the race, resulting in a -4 score for Toronto.

Women’s 200 breast

1. LAZOR Annie LON 2:19.01 10 PT
2. TETEREVKOVA Kotryna LAC  2:21.63 7 PT
3. CIEPLUCHA Tessa TOR 2:21.66 6 PT
4. GORBENKO Anastasia LAC  2:21.69 5 PT
5. CARRARO Martina AQC  2:21.83 4 PT
6. WOG Kelsey TOR 2:22.35 3 PT
7. LAHTINEN Laura LON 2:23.91 2 PT
8. OMOTO Rika AQC 2:25.11 JP

London Roar’s Annie Lazor got off to an early lead in the women’s 200 breaststroke with an opening split of 32.33, and managed to touch first at the 100 (35.42), and then pulled off the victory in a 2:19.01. Lazor has been within the top 3 in all 4 of her 200 breaststroke races this season, but this marks her first win of the year.

Lazor’s time jackpotted Aqua swimmer Rika Omoto, while teammate Laura Lahtinen gave London another 2 points from 7th place. LA tied London’s 12-point total in the race, though, considering that Kotryna Teterevkova and Anastasia Gorbenko went 2-4. Toronto was third overall thanks to Tessa Cieplucha (3rd) and Kelsey Wog (6th).

Men’s 200 breast

1. KAMMINGA Arno AQC 2:02.52
2. McKEE Anton TOR  2:03.54
3. SCHWINGENSCHLOGL Fabian TOR  2:05.05
4. MARTINENGHI Nicolo AQC 2:05.81
5. ROTHBAUER Christopher LAC  2:06.04
6. MURDOCH Ross LON 2:09.02
7. WILLIAMSON Sam LON  2:09.31
8. RUVALCABA CRUZ Hector LAC  2:10.89

#1 overall draft pick Arno Kamminga proved his worth here by winning the men’s 200 breaststroke for the Aqua Centurions. Kamminga posted a 2:02.52 to take first place, establishing the fastest time we’ve seen in the event from any man this season. In addition to the top time of 2021, this is Kamminga’s first 200 breaststroke victory, improving upon his 3rd place finish at match 10.

Toronto’s breaststrokers Anton McKee and Fabian Schwingenschlogl each made a bid to out-swim Kamminga towards the end but couldn’t quite do it and wound up in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively. They were able to escape Kamminga’s jackpot, however, which gave Aqua 15 points. Nicolo Martinenghi placed 4th for Aqua, bringing their total up to 20 points for the race.

The only other man to score here was LA swimmer Christopher Rothbauer with 4 points in 5th place. London Roar felt the absence of their breaststroke stars here, scoring 0 points in 6th and 7th place.

Women’s 4×100 free relay

1. LON – London Roar 3:28.04 38.0
2. TOR – Toronto Titans 3:29.80 14 PT
3. LAC – LA Current 3:31.89 12 PT
4. AQC – Aqua Centurions 3:33.89 10 PT
5. TOR – Toronto Titans 3:35.39 –
6. LAC – LA Current 3:37.04 -2
7. LON – London Roar 3:40.53 – 2
8. AQC – Aqua Centurions 3:45.93 -2

Emma McKeon contributed to her second event win of the day by throwing down a 51.36 100 freestyle split for the London Roar. She touched first with that swim and was followed by Marie Wattel, Kira Toussaint, and Freya Anderson, who all held the lead with their respective swims.

Toronto got close a couple of times, including at the 300-meter mark when Michelle Coleman‘s 52.04 split got them within a second of London. Anchor Lousie Hansson posted a closing split of 52.80, though, which wasn’t quite enough to close the gap as Freya Anderson wrapped up London’s race in a 52.02.

LA and Aqua each got one team within the top 4 but London’s winning time was fastest enough to jackpot the 5th – 8th place teams, meaning that they scored a massive 38 points overall.

Men’s 50 free

1. CHALMERS Kyle LON 21.10 9.0
2. = CARTER Dylan LON 21.11 6.5 PT
3. = ZAZZERI Lorenzo TOR  21.11  6.5
4. GRINEV Vladislav AQC 21.35  5.0
5. GKOLOMEEV Kristian LAC 21.50 4.0
6. KISIL Yuri TOR  21.54 3.0
7. ROONEY Maxime LAC    21.58  2.0
8. MIRESSI Alessandro AQC 21.70 1.0

This was an absolutely blistering race as the top 3 men came within just 0.01 seconds of each other. Kyle Chalmers took the crown with a 21.10, which teammate Dylan Carter and Toronto’s Lorenzo Zazzeri nearly beat, having each touched with a 21.11.

Chalmers’ swim marks his second win this season and gets him within half a second of his own Australian record in the event of 20.68 from just a few weeks ago. The winning time here was not quick enough to jackpot any of Chalmers’ competitors as 8th place finisher Alessandro Miressi was only 0.60 seconds slower.

Women’s 50 free

1. WASICK Kasia TOR  23.46 10
2. WEITZEIL Abbey LAC 23.67 7
3. McKEON Emma  LON  23.72 6
4. KAMENEVA Mariia AQC 23.98 5
5. COLEMAN Michelle TOR 24.15 4
6. GASTALDELLO Beryl    LAC  24.34 3
7. ANDERSON Freya  LON  24.40 2
8. di PIETRO Silvia AQC  24.44 JP

Lorenzo Zazzeri nearly pulled off Toronto’s first victory in the men’s 50 freestyle this season but fell just short. Shortly after, teammate Kasia Wasick got redemption by winning the women’s event, marking her 3rd win this year. Wasick took first place at both match 5 and 7, having placed second at matched 1 and 9.

Wasick’s winning time of 23.46 was only 0.16 seconds slower than her PB and Polish record in the event which she set last year in a 23.30. Wasick jackpotted Silvia di Pietro’s 8th place time of 24.44 to score 10 points overall, while teammate Michelle Coleman was 5th with a 24.15 for 4 points.

Abbey Weitzeil came second with a 23.67, while Emma McKeon wound up 3rd overall in a 23.72. Both Weitzeil and McKeon have won the event this year but could quite catch Wasick, settling for 7 and 6 points, respectively.

Men’s 200 IM

1. RAZZETTI Alberto TOR 1:52.86 15 PT
2. SCOTT Duncan LON  1:53.77 7 PT
3. LITCHFIELD Max TOR  1:54.32 6 PT
4. DEVINE Abrahm LAC 1:54.83  5 PT
5. BORODIN Ilia AQC  1:56.78 4 PT
6. RUVALCABA CRUZ Hector LAC  1:57.67 JP
7. CECCON Thomas AQC  1:57.85 JP
8. DEAN Tom LON  1:58.32 JP

This was a massive swim for the Toronto Titans as Alberto Razzetti and Max Litchfield went 1-3 to score 21 points overall. Razzetti’s swim of 1:52.86 gets him within inches of Thomas Ceccon’s current 1:52.49 Italian record in the event and provides him with his first 200 IM win this season.

Razzetti and Litchfield’s performance brought Toronto into a tie with London for first place thus far in the team race.

London’s Duncan Scott clinched 2nd place for 7 points but teammate Tom Dean was jackpotted from 8th place. The only other men to score here were LA’s Abrahm Devine in 4th place and Ilia Borodin in 5th.

Women’s 200 IM

1. PICKREM Sydney LON 2:06.46 10
2. GORBENKO Anastasia LAC  2:07.27 7
3. CIEPLUCHA Tessa TOR 2:07.79 6
4. GASSON Helena LAC 2:08.39 5
5. SANCHEZ Kayla TOR 2:08.83 4
6. OMOTO Rika AQC 2:09.00 3
7. AQCSHANAHAN Katie LON 2:10.83 2
8. POLIERI Alessia AQC 2:16.21 -1 PT

Sydney Pickrem steadily improved in the women’s 200 IM throughout the regular season, placing 8th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st, respectively at 4 straight matches. Pickrem kept up her momentum from match 9 and pulled out a win for London here, notching a 2:06.46 to Anastasia Gorbenko’s 2:07.27 for second.

Pickrem stole points from only one swimmer in the race in the form of Alessia Polieri of Aqua Centurions who swam a 2:16.21 for 8th place. LA’s Gorbenko was joined by teammate Helena Gasson in the top 4, giving their team 12 points total, while Tessa Cieplucha pulled off 3rd in a 2:07.79.

Men’s 50 breast

1. MARTINENGHI Nicolo AQC 25.78 19 PT
2. SCOZZOLI Fabio AQC 25.90 7 PT
3. SCHWINGENSCHLOGL Fabian TOR 26.10 6 PT
4. BJERG Tobias   TOR 26.34
5. ROTHBAUER Christopher LAC  26.84
6. ACEVEDO Javier LAC 27.10
7. WILLIAMSON Sam LON 27.21
8. MURDOCH Ross LON 27.59

The Aqua Centurion men picked up their second breaststroke win of the day here as Nicolo Martinenghi delivered a 25.78 to take out the competition in the men’s 50 breast. That was enough to steal points from nearly every other man, raking in 19 points for his team. The swim was also not far off Martinenghi’s Italian record in the event of 25.37 from a few days ago.

Aqua teammate Fabio Szozzoli earned another 7 points for the team with his second-place finish, while Toronto’s duo of Schwingenschlogl and Bjerg were 3rd and 4th to earn 11 points total. LA and London scored no points in this race as both got fully jackpotted.

Women’s 50 breast

1. CLARK Imogen LAC  29.32 19 pt
2. ATKINSON Alia LON 29.54 7 pt
3. CARRARO Martina AQC 30.02 6 pt
4. SZTANDERA Dominika TOR 30.34 5 pt
5. TETEREVKOVA Kotryna  LAC  30.72 JP
6. LAUKKANEN Jenna LON 30.79 JP
7. WOG Kelsey TOR 31.33 JP
8. MUNOZ del CAMPO Lidon   AQC 32.38 -1 PT

The Aqua Centurions’ Arianna Castiglioni was expected to make a move for her team here but following a last-minute substitution, didn’t race. In her absence, LA Current’s Imogen Clark pulled off her second win of the season in a 29.32.

Clark out-touched the world record holder, Alia Atkinson, who swam a 29.54 for second place for London, while Aqua’s Martina Carraro came third. Dominika Szrtandera made it 1 swimmer from each team in the top 4 with her 30.34, scoring 5 points for the Toronto Titans.

The bottom 4 finishers, which features one representative from each team, were all jackpotted, giving Clark a whopping 19 points for her win.

Men’s 4×100 free relay

1. LON – London Roar 3:05.43 38.0
2. LAC – LA Current 3:08.03  14.0
3. TOR – Toronto Titans 3:08.97  11.0
4. AQC – Aqua Centurions 3:08.97  11.0
5. LAC – LA Current 3:15.28  -2.0
6. LON – London Roar 3:16.75  -2.0
7. TOR – Toronto Titans 3:22.27  -2.0
8. AQC – Aqua Centurions 3:32.18 -2.0

Just as the women did, the London Roar men got off to an early lead in the 4×100 freestyle relay thanks to Kyle Chalmers‘ opening split of 46.04. That was almost a second quicker than LA’s Maxime Rooney who opened with a 46.90. Katsumi Nakamura and Zac Incerti followed Chalmers’ lead as the second and third place swimmers, each splitting 46s. Dylan Carter closed things out for London, however, with a whopping 45.80 to secure the win in a 3:05.43.

LA finished second in a 3:08.03, while Toronto and Aqua tied for 3rd place in a 2:08.97. While each team managed to pick up points from one of their contingent’s, the bottom 4 teams got jackpotted to give London a total of 38 points.

Women’s 50 back

1. TOUSSAINT Kira LON 25.91 9.0
2. HANSSON Louise TOR 26.12 7.0
3. MASSE Kylie TOR 26.21 6.0
4. WILM Ingrid LAC 26.38  5.0
5. ATHERTON Minna LON  26.85  4.0
6. BARRATT Holly AQC  26.86 3.0
7. di LIDDO Elena AQC 26.89 2.0
8. GASSON Helena LAC 26.93  1.0

Kira Toussaint has swum a 25.60 world record twice in her career and will generally always be the favourite to win the women’s 50 backstroke. She strengthened the case for herself here by posting a 25.91 for the win as the only woman under 26 seconds.

While Toussaint managed to finish first, Toronto had a strong showing in the event as Louise Hansson and Kylie Masse went 2-3 to pick up 7 and 6 points, respectively. Masse has been a force to reckon with in the backstrokes for a while but Hansson, generally regarded as a butterflier, is a new addition to the Toronto backstroke lineup.

LA’s Ingrid Wilm was 4th here in a 26.38, while Toussaint’s teammate Minna Atherton wound up in 5th place with a 26.85.

Men’s 50 back

1. MURPHY Ryan LAC  22.79 12 PT
2. GUIDO Guilherme LON  23.03 7 PT
3. CHRISTOU Apostolos  LAC  23.14 6 PT
4. DIENER Christian  LON 23.16 5 PT
5. RYAN Shane  TOR 23.39 4 PT
6. PEKARSKI Grigori TOR 23.66 3 PT
7. SABBIONI Simone AQC  24.21 JP
8. SANTI Fabio AQC ì 24.62 JP

Ryan Murphy started things off with a 200 backstroke victory and returned to the pool to take first place in the 50. Murphy posted a 22.79 for the win, which is only a quarter of a second off his own league record in the event of 22.54 from season 2. Murphy collected 12 points for LA here, jackpotting both of Aqua’s swimmers who finished 7th and 8th.

Murphy’s teammate Apostolos Christou notched a 23.14 for third place, just a touch slower than London’s Guilherme Guido who was second in a 23.03. While Toronto escaped the jackpot here, Shane Ryan and Grigori Pekarski were 5th and 6th to score 7 points overall.

Women’s 400 free

1. McINTOSH Summer TOR 3:59.30 16
2. ANDERSON Freya LON 4:01.67 10
3. DUMONT Valentine LAC 4:01.84 7
4. HASSLER Julia TOR 4:03.90 7
5. HIBBOTT Holly AQC 4:05.79 4
6. WILSON Madison LAC 4:07.40 9
7. SHANAHAN Katie LON 4:11.96 -1
8. TAYLOR Laura AQC 4:18.38 – 1

Just as she did in her most recent ISL performance during match 5, Summer McIntosh pulled off the win here in the women’s 400 freestyle. Summer McIntosh was the only woman in the field to get under 4 minutes and neared her own Canadian record in the event of 3:58.78 from a few weeks ago. Along with the win, she stole points from London’s Shanahan and Aqua’s Lauras Taylor, giving her 16 points.

McIntosh’s teammate Julia Hassler earned 7 points from 4th place, while London scored 10 overall, and LA scored 16.

Men’s 400 free

1. KROON Luc TOR 3:40.96 9 pt
2. SCHEFFER Fernando LAC 3:41.30 11 pt
3. CIAMPI Matteo AQC 3:42.38 6 pt
4. LITCHFIELD Max TOR 3:42.92 5 pt
5. SCOTT Duncan LON 3:42.95 16 pt
6. CORREIA Breno LAC 3:43.78 3 pt
7. DEAN Tom LON 3:46.72 2 pt
8. BORODIN Ilia AQC 3:47.28 1 pt

In the third last race of the day, Duncan Scott, Fernando Scheffer, and Luc Kroon passed around the lead throughout the race. Scott started things off with a 1:46.76 200 split to lead the pack, but shortly after the halfway mark, Scheffer pulled into the lead.

It looked like LA would clinch the win as Scheffer made his way towards the wall, but Toronto Titan Luc Kroon made an incredible bid in the final 25 and pulled off the win for his team. While Kroon placed first time-wise, Duncan Scott actually won the most points here with 16 overall, while Scheffer scored 11 and Kroon 11.

Women’s 4×100 medley relay

1. LON – London Roar 3:47.17 38.0
2. TOR – Toronto Titans 3:48.85  14.0
3. LAC – LA Current 3:51.63 12.0
4. LAC – LA Current 3:52.31 10.0
5. AQC – Aqua Centurions 3:55.37
6. LON – London Roar 3:55.73
7. TOR – Toronto Titans 3:56.88
8. AQC – Aqua Centurions 3:57.61

London Roar made it 3-for-3 relay wins on day 1 of the meet as Kira Toussaint, Alia Atkinson, Marie Wattel, and Emma McKeon produced a winning time of 3:47.17. Toronto was close once again to shutting them down but ultimately fell short with a 3:48.17. London picked up 38 points overall in the race which is far more than Toronto’s 14 and London’s 22, meaning that London will get to pick the stroke for the skins race.

Men’s 4×100 medley relay

1. LON – London Roar 3:23.58 18.0
2. LAC – LA Current 3:23.61  14.0
3. AQC – Aqua Centurions 3:24.23  12.0
4. TOR – Toronto Titans 3:25.75  10.0
5. AQC – Aqua Centurions 3:26.91 8.0
6. LAC – LA Current 3:27.04 6.0
7. LON – London Roar 3:27.75  4.0
8. TOR – Toronto Titans 3:29.05  2.0

It was a perfect day in terms of relays for London Roar. The LA Current got an early lead when Ryan Murphy notched a 49.44 backstroke split to get his team into the lead, followed by Javier Acevedo on breaststroke and Tom Sheilds on butterfly.

When LA’s Maxime Rooney dove in he just needed to hold of London’s Kyle Chalmers to get the win but Chalmers was just too fast. Chalmers hit a 45.38 to close the race, giving London Roar 18 points for first, which when combined with the 4 points they earned from 7th, gives the team a winning total of 22.

Team Scores After Day 1

1. London Roar – 280.5
2. LA Current – 246.0
3. Toronto Titans – 231.5
4. Aqua Centurions – 138.0