2021 ISL Playoff Match 6, Day 2: Live Recap

2021 INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE – SEASON 3, MATCH 17 – PLAYOFFS MATCH 6

• Saturday, November 27th – Sunday, November 28th
• 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
• Match Preview
• Day 1 Start Lists
• Day 2 Start Lists
• Live Results
• Day 1 Live Recap
• Teams Competing: Cali Condors, Toronto Titans, Aqua Centurions, Iron

TEAM POINTS – DAY 1

1. Aqua Centurions – 264 points
2. Cali Condors – 250 points
3. Iron – 205 points
4. Toronto Titans – 180 points

Lane Assignments

• Lanes 1 & 2: Iron
• Lanes 3 & 4: Aqua Centurions
• Lanes 5 & 6: Cali Condors
• Lanes 7 & 8: Toronto Titans

Day 1 of Playoff Match 6 saw a strong start by the Aqua Centurions who, at the beginning of day 2, hold a 14-point lead over season 2 champions the Cali Condors. Iron also had an impressive first day while the Toronto Titans, who are hurting as they only have 8 men swimming this weekend, are sitting in 4th place. As determined Saturday, the women’s 50 skins race will be butterfly and the men’s 50 skins race will be backstroke. Cali’s Caeleb Dressel is not swimming this weekend, though the Condors have looked strong despite his absence. Unless the Toronto Titans can pull off a huge come-from-behind victory their season ends today. Regardless of the final outcome, the Aqua Centurions and Iron will also swim their final races of the 2021 ISL season during this session.

Women’s 100 Freestyle

Iron’s Barbora Seemanova looked like she was about to get the win from lane 2, but Cali’s Erika Brown charged home in the final 15 meters to go past Seemanova as well as Condor teammate Natalie Hinds to get the win by 0.01, touching the wall in 51.70. Brown jackpots Aqua’s Rosalia Nasretdinova and Iron’s Casey Fanz, bringing in 12 points.

Men’s 100 Freestyle

Cali’s Justin Ress steps up in Dressel’s absence, taking the win in the men’s 100 freestyle with a new lifetime best of 45.70. Ress led from start to finish, flipping in 21.67, already half a second ahead of the rest of the field. The Aqua Centurions did well to place 2nd and 3rd, though the Cali Condors will take a narrow lead in overall team points. Ress jackpots Iron’s Maxim Lobanovszkij and Toronto’s Marius Kusch.

Team Points Update

1. Cali Condors – 284 points
2. Aqua Centurions – 280 points
3. Iron – 216 points
4. Toronto Titans – 187 points

Women’s 200 Butterfly

Late-addition Hali Flickinger rode in 2nd and 3rd through most of the race, trailing Toronto’s Laura Stephens, though Flickinger produced a great turn at the 175-meter mark and rocketed into a quick final 25, overtaking Stephens to get the win in 2:04.28. Cali teammate Katerine Savard placed 3rd to give Cali 16 points total–Flickinger jakpots Aqua’s Laura Taylor to earn 1 additional point.

Men’s 200 Butterfly

Cali’s Eddie Wang and Toronto’s Alberto Razzetti battled through the entire 200 fly, though it was ultimately Wang who came out on top, touching nearly a second ahead of Razzetti. Wang was dominant on the middle 100 where he separated himself from Razzetti. Wang jackpots teammate Tomas Peribonio to earn Cali a total of 10 points. Toronto comes away with a much-needed 11 points to out-score Cali in this race, while Iron brings in 7 points and the Aqua Centurions 9 points.

Women’s 100 Backstroke

Toronto’s Kylie Masse blasted through in the final 5 meters to get her hand on the wall 0.01 ahead of Cali’s Olivia Smoliga, touching in 56.24. Cali finishes 2nd and 3rd with Sherridon Dressel touching in 57.40, giving the Condors a total of 13 points. The Aqua Centurions take a hit as both of their swimmers finish above the cutoff time, earning their team a 2-point penalty. Masse, however, jackpots both swimmers from Aqua as well as Iron’s Danielle Hill to rake in a total of 15 points. Overall, Toronto brings in a much-needed 20 points in the women’s 100 backstroke.

Men’s 100 Backstroke

After a disappointing women’s 100 backstroke Iron answers back with a 1-2 finish in the men’s 100 backstroke. Robert Glinta was about half a second off of his best time/Romanian National Record, though he still managed to get his hand on the wall first and was the only man under 50 seconds in the race. Glinta jackpots 3 other swimmers in the field to earn a total of 15 points which, coupled with Lorenzo Mora‘s 7 points, earns Iron 22 points in the race. World Record holder Coleman Stewart of the Cali Condors finishes 4th, more than 2 seconds off of his lifetime/season-best.

Women’s 100 IM

Cali Condor Beata Nelson made it 5-for-5 in 100 IM victories this season, just missing her American Record in the race, finishing in a 57.94. Nelson barely got to the wall ahead of Aqua’s Mariia Kamaneva who touched in 57.97. Toronto did well to place 3rd and 4th. Nelson’s narrow victory also brings her 3 jackpot points, giving her a total of 12 points in the race.

Men’s 100 IM

Iron’s Marco Orsi held on for the win in the men’s 100 IM, touching in 51.98, just 0.06 ahead of Aqua’s Thomas Ceccon. Orsi earns a 1-point jackpot by stealing the point from Cali’s Mark Szaranek.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke

Cali’s Lilly King blasted out to an early lead, turning in a blazing 29.58 at 50 meters, the same time she went in the individual 50 breaststroke Saturday. King finished in 1:03.48, nearly 2 seconds ahead of runner-up Martina Carraro of the Aqua Centurions. Aqua places 2nd and 3rd to earn a total of 13 points, though this haul is overshadowed by King who earns a 10-point jackpot, stealing the points from both swimmers from Iron and Toronto. Cali earns a total of 24 points in this race thanks to a 4th-place finish by Emily Escobedo.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke

Aqua’s Arno Kamminga sat in 2nd at the 50-meter turn, just 0.02 behind Cali’s Nic Fink. However, Kamminga produced a massive 29.32 on the final 50 meters to get the win by nearly a second, touching in 55.85. Overall, Kamminga’s swim today makes him the 2nd-best in the ISL this season, behind World Record holder Ilya Shymanovich of Energy Standard. Kamminga finishes just 0.06 off of his own Dutch National Record. Aqua’s Nicolo Martinenghi finishes in 3rd to earn the Centurions a total of 16 points in the race. Iron and the Toronto Titans will come away with just 5 points in this race.

Team Points Update

1. Cali Condors – 377 points
2. Aqua Centurions – 347 points
3. Iron – 278 points
4. Toronto Titans – 255 points

Women’s 50 Butterfly

Iron’s Ranomi Kromowidjojo scared the ISL Record with a 24.62 to win the women’s 50 butterfly. Close behind was Cali’s Kelsi Dahlia in 24.88. Iron finished 1st and 3rd thanks to Kromowidjojo and Melanie Henique, good for 18 points total. Kromowidjojo jackpots both Louise Hansson and Kylie Masse from the Toronto Titans. While this is not necessarily surprising on Masse’s part given that she is a backstroke specialist it is surprising to see Hansson’s points stolen in a butterfly event.

Men’s 50 Butterfly

The World Record showdown of the men’s 50 butterfly didn’t quite materialize, but co-World Record holder Nicholas Santos still got the win in 22.09. Aqua Centurion duo Matteo Rivolta and the other co-World Record holder in the men’s 50 butterfly Szebasztian Szabo placed 2nd and 3rd in 22.39 and 22.51, respectively. Both swimmers from the Cali Condors have their points stolen by Santos, though they will maintain the lead in the team standings. Santos is now 5-for-5 in 50 butterfly wins this ISL season.

Women’s 200 Freestyle

Barbora Seemanova of Iron had an impressive opening 100 and seemingly fell off the pace during the third 50 meters, losing ground to Aqua’s Federica Pellegrini and Cali’s Hali Flickinger. Pellegrini looked primed to get her first-ever ISL individual event victory, though she couldn’t hold on in the final 50 meters. Ultimately, Seemanova surged to regain the lead and touch the wall first in 1:54.17, with Flickinger touching 2nd in 1:54.36 and Pellegrini 3rd in 1:54.53. Seemanova was almost a second off of her season best of 1:53.30 from Match 10 in Naples though still managed to jackpot Toronto’s Kaersten Meitz.

Men’s 200 Freestyle

The men’s 200 freestyle was all about back-end speed. Toronto’s Luc Kroon turned in 7th at the 50-meter mark, 6th at the 100-meter mark, but established himself as the leader at 150 meters and got the win in 1:42.72. Kroon earns a much-needed 10 points for the Toronto Titans, jackpotting teammate Cole Pratt. Iron’s Luiz Altamir Melo finished 2nd while Cali’s Townley Haas finished 3rd. The early leader, Vladislav Grinev of the Aqua Centurions, finishes 7th ultimately.

Mixed 4 x 100 Medley Relay

It was a hard-fought battle between the Cali Condors and the Aqua Centurions, though thanks to a 51.52 second 100 freestyle split from Erika Brown, the Condors pulled off the victory. Aqua’s Mariia Kameneva was also very quick on the freestyle, posting a 51.68. Cali’s Angel Martinez posted a 49.89 on the butterfly split for the ‘Dors, the only split sub-50 in the race, filling a void left by Dressel. Arno Kamminga produced a 55.95 on the breaststroke for the Aqua Centurions, by far the fastest split in the field. The Condors managed to earn 2 additional points thanks to a jackpot of Iron’s ‘B’ team.

Team Points Update

1. Cali Condors – 435 points
2. Aqua Centurions – 404 points
3. Iron – 346 points
4. Toronto Titans – 293 points

Women’s 400 IM

Cali’s Hali Flickinger, who earlier won the 200 butterfly and placed 2nd in the 200 freestyle, surged to the early lead and picked up all 6 checkpoint points at the 200-meter mark. Toronto’s Tess Cieplucha was riding 2nd at the half-way point, picking up 4 checkpoint points, and then surged on the breaststroke to overtake Flickinger. Flickinger produced a massive final 50, closing in 28.86, the only swimmer to split sub-30 on any 50 after the first, though it wasn’t enough to catch back up to Cieplucha, who finished with a season-best time of 4:28.97. Cieplucha jackpots Toronto’s Candice Hall and Aqua’s Alessia Polieri, earning a total of 16 points to Flickinger’s 13 points. Flickinger’s swim, combined with teammate Kathrin Demler who placed 3rd, earns Cali a total of 21 points.

Men’s 400 IM

Iron’s Leonardo Santos was out fast, turning in 54.59 at the 100-meter mark. Santos maintained his lead though the backstroke and into the breaststroke, though he was eventually chased down by Aqua’s Ilya Borodin. Borodin produced very even 34.56/34.90 splits on the breaststroke to overtake Santos. Ultimately, Borodin finished in 4:03.20 to win the men’s 400 IM for the third time this season, albeit in his slowest time of the season. Toronto’s Max Litchfield and Alberto Razzetti made it interesting in the final 100 meters but could not close the gap Borodin opened up on the breaststroke. Borodin earns 12 points for Aqua while Litchfield and Razzetti grab a total of 15 points for Toronto. The Cali Condors, who look most likely to win the entire match, finish 7th and 8th to earn just 8 points total. Iron’s Santos, meanwhile, fell to 6th with a 4:08.84.

Team Points Update

1.  Cali Condors – 464 points
2. Aqua Centurions – 425 points
3. Iron – 371 points
4. Toronto Titans – 324 points

Women’s 50 Butterfly Skins

Quarter-Final

Iron’s Ranomi Kromowidjojo showcased her regular speed in the opening round of the women’s 50 butterfly skins. Ultimately, Iron advances both athletes as does the Cali Condors, shutting out the Aqua Centurions and the Toronto Titans. The Condors are now guaranteed to win this match.

Semi-Final

Kromowidjojo held on to win the second round of butterfly skins, though Cali’s Kelsi Dahlia nearly chased her down, touching in 25.91 and 25.94, respectively. Kromowidjojo jackpots teammate Melanie Henique to earn a total of 14 points. Even so, the Condors earn 13 points in round 2.

Final

Kelsi Dahlia, who is one of the best 200 SCM butterflyers in history, pulled off the win in round 3 of the skins, touching the wall more than half a second ahead of Kromowidjojo. Dahlia earns Cali another 14 points and effectively seals Cali’s position as match victors.

Men’s 50 Backstroke Skins

Quarter-Final

Cali’s Justin Ress takes the early lead in the men’s backstroke skins, touching the wall in 23.02 and jackpotting Toronto’s Cole Pratt, earning a total of 10 points. Condor teammate Coleman Stewart ties for 6th with Aqua’s Thomas Ceccon in 23.51. In all, the Condors take home 12.5 points in this race. The battle for 2nd place in the team standings has gotten much tighter now that both Robert Glinta and Guilherme Basseto of Iron advance and only one swimmer, Matteo Rivolta, from the Aqua Centurions will advance to the second round.

Semi-Final

Cali’s Justin Ress maintains his narrow lead over Iron’s Robert Glinta as the second round of the skins concludes. Aqua’s Matteo Rivolta is knocked out, as is Iron’s Guilherme Basseto. If Glinta wins the third round of the skins Iron will get 2nd in the team standings for this match. If Ress wins Iron will get 3rd.

Final

Iron’s Robert Glinta pulled off the win in round 3 of the skins, ultimately putting Iron 1.5 points ahead of the Aqua Centurions in the overall team standings for Playoff Match 6 in Eindhoven. The Cali Condors are the clear winners of this match, though the battle for 2nd was much closer than anticipated.

Final Team Standings

1. Cali Condors – 532.5 points
2.  Iron – 446 points
3. Aqua Centurions – 444.5 points
4. Toronto Titans – 331 points