International Swimming League Match 2 in Naples: Day One Live Recap

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

2019 International Swimming League: Group A, Match 2 – Naples

• Saturday, October 12th – Sunday, October 13th
• 7:00 pm – 9:00 PM, local time (UTC+2), (1:00 pm – 3:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time)
• Naples, Italy
• Piscina Felice Scandalone, Via Giochi del Mediterraneo
• Short Course Meters (SCM)
• Group A: Cali Condors, DC Trident, Energy Standard, Aqua Centurions
• Live stream, event schedule & viewer’s guide
• Day 1 full results

Lane Assignments:

• Energy Standard – Lanes 1/2
• Cali Condors – Lanes 3/4
• DC Trident – Lanes 5/6
• Aqua Centurions – Lanes 7/8

SwimSwam’s Jared Anderson provides live color commentary on each race in italics, below:

Women’s 100 fly

1. Kelsi Dahlia– CAC – 55.91
2. Sarah Sjostrom– ENS – 56.63
3. Anastasia Shkurdai– ENS – 57.37
4. Brianna Throssell – DCT – 5740
5. Elena di Liddo – AQC – 57.46
6. Ilaria Bianchi – AQC – 57.60
7. Natalie Hinds – CAC/ Sarah Gibson – DCT – 57.80
8. –

In a reverse from last week in Indianapolis, the Cali Condors made their mark in the opening race with a 55.91 win from Kelsi Dahlia in the 100 fly. Sarah Sjostrom (56.63) and Anastasia Shkurdai(57.37) of Energy Standard went 2-3 to keep their team in the running with 13 team points.

Dahlia beating Sjostrom is a major swing, and one of the keys we talked about in our pre-meet analysis. That’s effectively a 4-point swing for the Cali Condors. On the other hand, things wound up pretty even with Shkurdai moving up to 3rd (she was 5th last week) and Hinds falling to 7th (Cali’s Mallory Comerford took 6th in Indy).

Men’s 100 fly

1. Chad le Clos– ENS – 49.35
2. Caeleb Dressel– CAC – 49.36
3. Matteo Rivolta– AQC – 50.61
4. Jeremy Stravius – DCT – 51.11
5. Santo Condorelli – AQC – 51.47
6. Giles Smith – DCT – 51.62
7. John Shebat – CAC – 51.81
8. Kregor Zirk – ENS – 52.17

Chad le Clos touched out Caeleb Dressel by 1/100 to win the 100 fly for Energy Standard with 49.35. Dressel, representing Cali Condors in his first ISL match, scored in second place with 49.36. Le Clos and Dressel were the only sub-50s. Matteo Rivolta of Aqua Centurions led the rest of the field with 50.61 for third place.

The le Clos/Dressel showdown was a great one, and plays perfectly in the format of these meets. Le Clos’ .01 touchout is worth 9 points to Energy Standard compared to 7 for Dressel’s Condors. For Cali, though, it’s a net win. John Shebat fell to 7th (he was 5th last week), but Dressel’s 2nd was far better than Cali’s 8th place finish last week. On the flip side, it’s a loss for the Aqua Centurions – Rivolta/Condorelli were 2/3 last week but only 3/5 today.

Women’s 50 breast

1. Lilly King– CAC – 29.12
2. Molly Hannis– CAC – 29.59
3. Imogen Clark– ENS – 29.87
4. Martina Carraro – AQC – 29.88
5. Siobhan Haughey– DCT – 30.05
6. Leiston Pickett – DCT – 30.10
7. Georgia Bohl – AQC 0 30.58
8. Kierra Smith – ENS – 31.65*

*missed the minimum time standard

Lilly King of Cali Condors remains undefeated in breaststroke events. After having won the 50/100/200 breast in Indianapolis she repeated her 50 breast title in Napoli going 29.12. The Condors went 1-2 with runner-up Molly Hannis touching in 29.59. Energy Standard got on the board with a 29.87 third-place finish from Imogen Clark but lost a point when Kierra Smith missed the time standard.

Cali holds up their 1-2 finish from last week, and Energy Standard held their exact same placings (3rd/8th) as well. The relative winners here were the Aqua Centurions with Martina Carraro moving up from 5th to 4th. Also of note: DC subbed in Siobhan Haughey for Bethany Galat. Haughey actually finished one spot higher than Galat did last week, and it frees up Galat to take on the IM with Katie Ledecky not in action this week.

Men’s 50 breast

1. Nicolo Martinenghi– AQC – 25.98
2. Fabio Scozzoli– AQC – 26.06
3. Nic Fink– CAC – 26.29
4. Ilya Shymanovich– ENS – 26.30
5. Kevin Cordes – DCT – 26.68
6. Florent Manaudou– ENS – 26.80
7. Andrew Wilson – CAC – 27.18
8. Cody Miller– DCT – 27.22

Aqua Centurions scored big on a 1-2 finish from Nicolo Martinenghi (25.98) and Fabio Scozzoli (26.06). Cali Condors held on with a 3rd-place finish from Nic Fink (26.29). Energy Standard picked up points from 4th-place Ilya Shymanovich and 6th-place Florent Manaudou.

The breaststrokes have been pretty stable so far from week to week. The Aqua Centurion men go 1-2 for the second straight meet in this event. A big team battle flip: Fink moves up to third, passing Shymanovich of Energy Standard, who was 3rd last week. That’s a two-point swing. The addition of Kevin Cordes to the DC Trident lineup also moves them from 6th/7th last week to 5th/6th this week.

Women’s 400 IM

1. Melanie Margalis– CAC – 4:24.95
2. Fantine Lesaffre– ENS – 4:28.10
3. Bethany Galat– DCT – 4:29.35
4. Mary-Sophie Harvey– ENS – 4:32.86
5. Emma Barksdale – DCT – 4:32.92
6. Megan Kingsley – CAC – 4:33.93
7. Hannah Miley – AQC – 4:35.13
8. Franziska Hentke – AQC – 4:37.57

Melanie Margalis led the race from start to finish and, despite a strong breaststroke leg from Fantine Lesaffre of Energy Standard, won handily with 4:24.95. That gave Cali Condors another win, although Energy Standard scored at 2nd and 4th with Lesaffre and Mary-Sophie Harvey who just out-touched Emma Barksdale of DC Trident. Barksdale’s teammate Bethany Galat finished 3rd in 4:29.35.

Another net win for Energy Standard. The addition of Fantine Lesaffre gave Energy Standard a second-place finish, and Mary-Sophie Harvey was fourth (she was third last week, but moves down with Lesaffre’s addition). DC Trident moved down a bit, which was expected with Katie Ledecky not competing at this stop. She was second last week.

Men’s 400 IM

1. Jay Litherland– DCT – 4:06.35
2. Mark Szaranek– CAC – 4:07.89
3. Max Stupin – ENS – 4:09.66
4. Anton Ipsen – CAC – 4:10.05
5. Mykhaylo Romanchuk – ENS – 4:12.30
6. Laszlo Cseh – AQC – 4:12.36
7. Zach Harting – DCT – 4:17.89
8. Philip Heintz – AQC – 4:26.98*

Philip Heintz and Mark Szaranek took it out first but Jay Litherland got the win for DC Trident in 4:06.35, repeating his victory from Indianapolis last week. Heintz ended up fading badly and did not make the minimum time standard, losing a point for Aqua Centurions. Szaranek (4:07.89) and 4th-place Anton Ipsen (4:10.05) put 12 points on the board for Cali Condors. Max Stupin led the Energy Standard charge with a 3rd-place finish in 4:09.66.

DC’s Litherland wins for the second-straight week. He was about six tenths faster today after a week of cross-continental travel, which is impressive in a taxing race like this. Cali held their places from last week exactly, and both men went faster. Philip Heintz of the Aqua Centurions had a disaster of a swim. He was second last week, but faded to 8th in 4:26.98 this week. Not only does that finish last, it also misses the ISL benchmark time, meaning he’ll gain zero points instead of the traditional one point for 8th place.

Women’s 4×100 free

1. Energy Standard 1 – 3:28.77
2. Cali Condors 1 – 3:30.13
3. DC Trident 1 – 3:31.97
4. Aqua Centurions 1 – 3:32.05
5. Cali Condors 2 – 3:32.78
6. Energy Standard 2 – 3:34.16
7. DC Trident 2 – 3:37.13
8. Aqua Centurions 2 – 3:39.86

Energy Standard, who won all but one relay last weekend, took first in the women’s 400 free relay. Cali Condors finished 2nd and 5th, with DC Trident and Aqua Centurions going 3-4. Energy Standard’s splits: Penny Oleksiak (53.24), Sarah Sjostrom (51.93), Kayla Sanchez (52.12), and Femke Heemskerk (51.48). Olivia Smoliga had been the quickest out of the gate with a leadoff leg of 52.63 for the Condors. She was followed by Kelsi Dahlia (52.91), Natalie Hinds (52.16), and Mallory Comerford (52.43).

Valuing continuity on relay exchanges perhaps, the top two teams kept their lineups identical to Indianapolis right down to the swim order. Energy Standard went a tenth slower, but still won handily, because the Cali Condors went a half-second slower in second. Both teams’ B relays slipped a spot, too: Cali from 4th to 5th and Energy Standard from 5th to 6th. That’s because the Aqua Centurions had a much better performance in front of their home crowd, moving from 6th to 4th with their A team.

UPDATED TEAM SCORES

1. Cali Condors – 89.5
2. Energy Standard – 83
3. DC Trident – 63.5
4. Aqua Centurions – 56

Men’s 200 back

1. Evgeny Rylov– ENS – 1:49.24
2. Mitch Larkin– CAC – 1:5041
3. Radoslaw Kawecki– CAC – 1:50.97
4. Tristan Hollard – DCT – 1:52.59
5. Travis Mahoney – AQC – 1:52.73
6. Andreas Vazaios – DCT – 1:52.92
7. Apostolos Christou – AQC – 1:53.48
8. Kregor Zirk – ENS – 1:57.91

Evgeny Rylov (1:49.24) won the 200 back decisively from lane 1  but Cali Condors scored at 2nd and 3rd with Mitch Larkin and Radoslaw Kawecki for another 13 points. Tristan Hollard was 4th for DC Trident with 1:52.59.

Last week, this race came down to three tenths, but this time around Rylov was much further ahead. Still, a good swing for Cali, though, as they go 2-3 instead of last week’s 2-4. Energy Standard continues to focus on the relays at the expense of the individuals, though – they’ve got a group of great backstrokers and leave Kliment Kolesnikov on their bench while Zirk took 8th. With the men’s medley coming up, it’s a good bet Kolesnikov is once again leading off there, and he’ll have a boost against a fatigued Larkin for Cali.

UPDATED TEAM SCORES

1. Cali Condors – 102.5
2. Energy Standard – 93
3. DC Trident – 71.5
4. Aqua Centurions – 62

Women’s 200 back

1. Kylie Masse– CAC – 2:01.90
2. Emily Seebohm– ENS – 2:03.83
3. Lisa Bratton– DCT – 2:03.90
4. Mary-Sophie Harvey– ENS – 2:05.96
5. Simona Kubova – DCT – 2:05.98
6. Silvia Scalia – AQC – 2:08.90
7. Megan Kingsley – CAC – 2:10.47

• Margherita Panziera – AQC – DQ