Robert Glinta’s Skins Victory Gives Iron a 2nd-Place Finish in Playoff Match 6

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
• Day 2 Live Recap
• Teams Competing: Cali Condors, Toronto Titans, Aqua Centurions, Iron

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

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

Heading into the second day of competition of the final playoff match of the 2021 ISL season, the Aqua Centurions held a 14-point lead over the season 2 champions the Cali Condors. The Condors went on to win the match though the Aqua Centurions and Iron put up an impressive fight. In the final moments of competition, Iron surged to 2nd place, defeating the Aqua Centurions by just 1.5 points.

Robert Glinta‘s Skins Victory Earns Iron 2nd Place

Iron’s 2nd-place would not have been possible if not for two events. First, Aqua Centurion head coach Matteo Giunta chose backstroke for the men’s skins, having earned that right after the Centurions dominated the men’s 4 x 100 medley relay on Saturday. This, as we pointed out in the day 1 wrap up, looked like it would benefit Iron more than any other team. Exactly as predicted, Iron did well in the men’s skins, winning the event and securing a 2nd-place finish in the match overall.

Robert Glinta was Iron’s hero in the skins, though we cannot overlook Ranomi Kromowidjojo‘s efforts in the women’s skins. Glinta won the men’s 50 backstroke skins for the second time this season, getting the better of Cali’s Justin Ress in the final one-on-one battle. Before the final race of the meet, Iron sat in 3rd in the team standings with 432.0 points, just behind the Aqua Centurions who sat in 2nd with 444.5 points. However, with the win and the 14-point uptick to give Iron 446.0 points.

Matteo Rivolta is the Aqua Centurion’s 1st Season 3 MVP

Matteo Rivolta got the ball rolling for the Aqua Centurions with a huge win in the men’s 100 butterfly on Saturday, blasting a 48.64 to win the race and pull in a 15-point jackpot, earning 24 total points in the race. In doing so, Rivolta became just the 5th man to ever crack the 49-second barrier in the race. Russia’s Evgeny Korotyshkin was the first man to ever break 49 back in the “super-suit era” in 2009 with a 48.48, the current European Record. Since then, Americans Tom Shields and Caeleb Dressel, as well as South African Chad le Clos have been faster.

In addition to his huge win in the men’s 100 butterfly, Rivolta placed 4th in the men’s 50 backstroke (23.36), 3rd in the men’s 100 backstroke (50.36), 2nd in the 50 butterfly (22.39), and advanced to the semi-final of the men’s 50 backstroke skins, placing 3rd (23.33 round 1; 24.59 round 2).

Rivolta earned a total of 55.0 points in Playoff Match 6, good enough to earn the designation of Match MVP. Rivolta is the first swimmer from the Aqua Centurions to earn Match MVP honors in season 3.

Playoff Match 6 MVPs – Top-10

1. Matteo Rivolta (AQC), 55 points
2. Hali Flickinger (CAC), 51 points
3. Beata Nelson (CAC), 47.5 points
4. Robert Glinta (IRO), 46 points
5. Lilly King (CAC), 44 points
6. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (IRO), 39.5 points
7. Justin Ress (CAC), 38.5 points
8. Kylie Masse (TOR), 37.5 points
9. Kelsi Dahlia (CAC), 37 points
10. Erika Brown (CAC), 36.5 points

Match MVPs – Regular Season & Playoffs

• Match 1: Sarah Sjostrom (ENS), 60.5 points
• Match 2: Coleman Stewart (CAC), 95.0 points
• Match 3: Siobhan Haughey (ENS), 78.0 points
• Match 4: Caeleb Dressel (CAC), 112.5 points
• Match 5: Louise Hansson (TOR), 57.5 points
• Match 6: Daiya Seto (TOK), 57.0 points
• Match 7: Beata Nelson (CAC), 67.0 points
• Match 8: Ilya Shymanovich (ENS), 64.0 points
• Match 9: Evgeny Rylov (ENS), 60.5 points
• Match 10: Daiya Seto (TOK), 50.0 points
• Match 11 – Play-In Match: Ranomi Kromowidjojo (IRO), 43.5 points
• Playoff Match 1: Ilya Shymanovich (ENS), 62.5 points
• Playoff Match 2: Ryan Murphy (LAC), 58.0 points
• Playoff Match 3: Sarah Sjostrom (ENS), 87.5 points
• Playoff Match 4: Duncan Scott (LON), 60.0 points
• Playoff Match 5: Ilya Shymanovich (ENS), 83.5 points
• Playoff Match 6: Matteo Rivolta (AQC), 55.0 points

Team Standings After Playoff Match 6

Following the culmination of Playoff Match 6, Energy Standard and the Cali Condors are tied for 1st in the season standings with 11 points. The London Roar hold 3rd place in team standings with 10 points while the LA Current sits 4th with 8 points. The Toronto Titans could have broken into the final if the had been able to win Playoff Match 6, though with only 8 men covering half of the events on offer in the meet. Ultimately, the Titans finish the playoffs with 6 points–points earned in the playoffs, not the regular season. The Aqua Centurions and Iron finish the playoffs tied with 5 points while DC finishes 8th in the playoff pool with just 4 points.

Here again, Iron can thank Glinta for their equal-6th-place finish, as it was the 3 team points won in Playoff Match 6 that put them up to 5 points total.