ISL Naples: Lilly King Doubles to Power Cali Condors to Day One Lead; Caeleb Dressel Debuts

International Swim League (ISL): Day One – Naples (Live Results)

One week after the International Swimming League made its much-awaited debut in Indianapolis, with Energy Standard claiming victory, the ISL made its first stop in Europe. Racing in the second leg of their back-to-back meets, Energy Standard, the Cali Condors, D.C. Trident and Aqua Centurions battled in Naples, Italy. After missing the meet in Indianapolis, World Championships headliner Caeleb Dressel joined the Condors, providing a victory over Frenchman Florent Manaudou in a heavily anticipated meeting in the 50 freestyle.

While Dressel entered the fray for his squad, Katie Ledecky was absent from the D.C. Trident roster, a week after she just missed the short-course world record in the 400 freestyle. Ledecky was timed in an American record of 3:54.06, with the world mark sitting at 3:53.92 to Aussie Ariarne Titmus. Meanwhile, Italian star Federica Pellegrini used the ISL stopover in her home country to make her debut for the Aqua Centurions, who finished fourth in last week’s action. Pellegrini wasn’t at her sharpest, but that did not stop the Italian crowd from providing an excellent atmosphere.

Dressel’s presence, along with a pair of victories from Lilly King, enabled the Cali Condors to take a 7.5-point lead over Energy Standard into Day Two in Naples. Of course, much can change in the rapid-fire world of the ISL, and the end-of-the-meet Skins races will play a major role in determining whether the Condors can fend off Energy Standard.

Here is what unfolded during the first day of competition in Naples (Most recent events at top):

Team Scores After Day One

Cali Condors – 237.5
Energy Standard – 230
Aqua Centurions – 174
D.C. Trident – 162.5

MVP Standings

Caeleb Dressel – 22.5 points
Chad Le Clos – 22 points
Sarah Sjostrom – 20.5 points
Olivia Smoliga – 19.5 points

Men’s 400 Freestyle Relay

Finishing the first day in Naples on a positive note, Energy Standard accumulated 28 points between its two relays, its primary squad ignited by Florent Manaudou and Chad Le Clos and winning the event in 3:07.58. That effort cut the lead of the Cali Condors, who finished second in the 400 free relay, to only 7.5 points heading into the second day of the meet.

Men’s 200 Breaststroke

Trailing the Cali Condors in the team standings, Energy Standard needed a spark and Ilya Shymanovich supplied one, easily winning the 200 breast in 2:04.60. Second place went to the Cali Condors’ Nic Fink while fellow American Cody Miller touched in third place for the D.C. Trident.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Picking up the pace over the final 50 meters, Lilly King moved ahead of Bethany Galat and propelled the Cali Condors to a haul of 15 points. King, who has won all five her breaststroke events in the ISL, managed a time of 2:19.48 and was joined on the podium by Molly Hannis. Galat finished in second for the D.C. Trident.

Team scoring at the third break:

Cali Condors – 195.5
Energy Standard – 183
Aqua Centurions – 140
D.C. Trident – 137.5

Men’s 50 Backstroke

French veteran and former world champion Jeremy Stravius handed the D.C. Trident nine points as he covered his two laps in 23.13. Energy Standard received a second-place showing from Kliment Kolesnikov while the Aqua Centurions watched Simone Sabbioni finish in third.

Women’s 50 Backstroke

Significant points were collected by the Cali Condors as Olivia Smoliga, known for her sprint prowess, led a one-two finish for her team, with Kylie Masse touching in second. Smoliga touched the wall in 26.26 and, with Masse’s placement, the Condors tallied 16 points. Elena Di Liddo of the Aqua Centurions was third.

Men’s 200 Freestyle

A late rally by Breno Correia provided a spark for the Aqua Centurions. Correia trailed for the majority of the race, but dug deep in the final strokes and managed to edge Kacper Majchrzak of the Cali Condors by .02, with Correia touching in 1:43.56. Ivan Girev placed third for Energy Standard.

Women’s 200 Freestyle

Coming off a terrific split in the 400 freestyle relay, the D.C. Trident’s Siobhan Haughey was dominant in the 200 free, leading from start and never looking back. Haughey posted a time of 1:52.02, followed by Ariarne Titmus of the Cali Condors and Kayla Sanchez of Energy Standard.

Team scoring at the second break:

Cali Condors – 156.5
Energy Standard – 145
Aqua Centurions – 104
D.C. Trident – 102.5

Men’s 400 Medley Relay

Much to the delight of the Italian crowd, the Aqua Centurions broke up the Energy Standard power in the relay events as they topped the field in 3:24.13, with Energy Standard and the Cali Condors following. The Centurions benefited from the grouping of Simone Sabbioni, Nicolo Martinenghi, Matteo Rivolta and Alessandro Miressi. One of Energy Standard’s two relays endured a disqualification, costing James Gibson’s team important points, along with a penalty for the DQ.

Women’s 50 Freestyle

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Although a little later than the opening week of ISL action in Indianapolis, Sarah Sjostrom got on top of the podium in individual competition, her time of 23.63 plenty quick enough to win the dash. Sjostrom led a one-three finish for Energy Standard, as Femke Heemskerk also scored key points. Olivia Smoliga broke up Energy Standard by placing second for the Cali Condors.

Men’s 50 Freestyle

Perhaps the most-awaited event of the day was the showdown between Caeleb Dressel and Florent Manaudou in the two-lap sprint, and it was Dressel who got his hand on the wall first in 20.64, a superb time for this point in the season and critical for the Cali Condors’ pursuit of the team win. Manaudou was second, with his Energy Standard teammate Ben Proud in third.

Women’s 200 Backstroke

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Canada’s Kylie Masse provided a strong performance for the Condors, pulling away from the Aqua Centurions’ Margherita Panziera, who was later disqualified. Masse registered a time of 2:01.90, with Energy Standard’s Emily Seebohm taking second and the D.C. Trident’s Lisa Bratton finishing third.

Men’s 200 Backstroke

Energy Standard started the second session of Day One with a wire-to-wire decision from Russia’s Evgeny Rylov, who stopped the clock in 1:49.24. However, the event proved to be a bigger boon for the Cali Condors, as their tandem of Aussie Mitch Larkin and Poland’s Radoslaw Kawecki were second and third for a combined 13 points.

Team scoring at the first break:

Cali Condors – 89.5
Energy Standard – 83
D.C. Trident – 63.5
Aqua Centurions – 56

Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay

Energy Standard maintained its early relay dominance as the foursome of Penny Oleksiak, Sarah Sjostrom, Kayla Sanchez and Femke Heemskerk prevailed in 3:28.77, with the Cali Condors finishing second behind the quartet of Olivia Smoliga, Kelsi Dahlia, Natalie Hines and Mallory Comerford. The D.C. Trident placed third. Energy Standard has won five of the first six relays in the ISL, and it was Sjostrom who gave Energy Standard the lead on the second leg, allowing Sanchez and Heemskerk (51.48) to complete the latest win. D.C.’s third-place effort was fueled by Siobhan Haughey’s split of 51.51.

Men’s 400 Individual Medley

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The first victory of the day for the D.C. Trident, supplied by Jay Litherland, gave each of the teams a win in the first portion of the meet. Litherland enjoyed a comfortable victory, as he touched the wall in 4:06.35 to place ahead of the Cali Condor’s Mark Szaranek and Energy Standard’s Max Stupin.

Women’s 400 Individual Medley

American Melanie Margalis has proven herself to be a reliable point-scorer for the Cali Condors during the early stages of ISL competition, and that fact was on display as Margalis won the 400 IM in 4:24.95 to defeat Energy Standard’s Fantine Lesaffre. The podium was completed by Bethany Galat of the D.C. Trident.

Men’s 50 Breaststroke

There were minimal highlights for the Aqua Centurions during the first meet of the ISL season, but Nicolo Martinenghi and Fabio Scozzoli gave their squad a major boost early in the Naples stop. In front of a home crowd, the Italians swept the first two positions, with Martineghi prevailing in 25.98. Nic Fink came up with a key third-place finish for the Cali Condors.

Women’s 50 Breaststroke

The Cali Condors relied on their breaststroke punch as Lilly King and Molly Hannis placed first and second to generate 16 points. King touched the wall first in 29.12. Energy Standard’s Imogen Clark placed third.

Men’s 100 Butterfly

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Chad Le Clos of Energy Standard pushed the pace from the outset and held off a feverish finish from Caeleb Dressel (Cali Condors) to win by a hundredth of a second in 49.35. Dressel was closing quickly down the final lap, but ran out of room. Matteo Rivolta of the Aqua Centurions claimed the third position.

Women’s 100 Butterfly

In a change from last week, American Kelsi Dahlia (55.91) got the Cali Condors some early momentum as she bested Energy Standard’s Sarah Sjostrom, who was a five-event winner in Indianapolis. Anastasia Shkurdai turned in a third-place effort for Energy Standard to partially offset the change at the top of the event.

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Thomas A. Small

4 years ago

Congratulations