T&T swimming ace Dylan Carter and his London Roar team-mates moved up one spot to joint fourth on the ten-table after the conclusion of the two-day Match Day 6 of the 2021 International Swimming League (ISL) at the Felice Scandone Swimming Pool, Naples, Italy on Sunday.
After competing in two of the mandatory four Match Days, the London Roar has tallied seven points, the same as Toronto Titans from two match days each.
The London Roar’s points tally is comprised of three points from their second place (436.5 points) showing on Match Day Three and four points from their stunning Match Day Six (529.5) win which came at the expense of defending ISL champions Cali Condors.
It was the first Match Day defeat for Condors dating back to end of start of the 2020 campaign.
Titans’ seven points tally is a combination of their second spot finish on Match Day One (496.5) and triumph on Match Day Five with 536 points.
Overall, Condors who had to cope without star USA swimmer Caeleb Dressel on Sunday’s second day of Match Day Six due to illness are top of the table having won Match Day Two with a season-high 707 points, as well as Match Day Four (594) to go with their runners-up position from last weekend with 478.5.
The LA Current, the former team of California-based Olympian Carter sits second on the table with nine points having competed in three Match Days as well, all second placed finishes on Day Two (402.5), Day Four (444.5), and Day Five (452.5).
A further point behind is third spot is France-based Energy Standard who topped Match Day One (511.5) and Day Three (640.5) in their two outings thus far.
Host club Aqua Centurions of Italy occupy sixth spot with six points from three third placed placings in Match Day One (442.5), Day Four (375.5) and Day Six (416.5).
The table is completed by seventh-placed DC Trident with six points from one third placed finish and two cellar placings while Iron and Tokyo Frog Kings each have three points after a third and fourth placement each, with New York Breakers, tenth on the table with two points from as many fourth placed finishes.
A Commonwealth Games medal winner for T&T, the first in swimmer, Carter won a gold and silver medal in the latest Match Day events.
On Sunday, he swam to silver in the men’s 50m butterfly in 22.42, well behind Aqua Centurions’ Szebasztian Szabo who won gold in 22.18 while Tokyo Frog Kings’ Takeshi Kawamoto and London Roar’s Vini Lanza tied for bronze in 22.68.
A University of Southern California graduate, Carter also competed in the men’s 50m freestyle skins event, but he ended in sixth spot in 21.50.
A day earlier, two-time Olympian Carter won his first gold medal, and third medal overall in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay alongside Australian Kyle Chalmers, Katsumi Nakamura, and Edward Mildred who combined for a winning time of three minutes, 05.05 seconds.
Carter also swam the third leg behind Luke Greenbank, and Ross Murdoch with Nakamura on the anchor-leg in the men’s 4x100 medley for a fifth placed finish in 3:25.37 minutes.
When the ISL swam off earlier this month, Carter’s Roar opened with a silver and bronze medal.
He got bronze in the 50m butterfly in 22.62 seconds to trail 41-year-old Brazilian Nicholas Santos of Iron who won in 22.18, and Energy Standard’s Ben Proud (22.43).
A day earlier (September 2), Carter swam the joint fastest leg of 46.37 in picking up a silver medal as part of the 4 x 100m freestyle relay quartet alongside Nakamura, Zac Incerti and Duncan Scott who clocked a combined time 3:07.62 seconds for 14 team points.
In his first competitive event since the Tokyo Olympic Games, he also placed fourth in the men’s 50m freestyle in 21.61 seconds while he finished sixth in the 50m butterfly skins in 22.75.
The Roar next competes on Match Day Eight on Saturday, September 18 and Sunday, September 19 against Energy Standard, LA Current and Tokyo Frog Kings.
They will then conclude their series versus Energy Standard, Toronto Titans and DC Trident from September 23 to 24.
On completion of the round-robin stage the first playoff takes place from September 29-30 in Naples as well before the event shifts to the Pieter Van Den Hoogenband Stadium, in Holland for the semifinals from November 11-18 and 25-28.
The finals of the third edition are carded for February 7-9, 2022 at a venue yet to be determined.
However, the competition resumes today (Thursday, September 16 and continues on Friday, September, 17 with Match Day Seven featuring Cali Condors, Iron, Toronto Titans and New York Breakers.
But the Condors will have to go the rest of the regular season without the biggest name in the ISL, in Dressel it was revealed on Tuesday.
This was announced by Cali Condors General Manager Jason Lezak who said in a statemen: “Caeleb was not feeling well before his match on the 12th and as a team, we decided that it would be best for him to sit out of the rest of the regular season so that he will be in optimal condition for the playoffs.”
His agent has told SwimSwam that Dressel does not have COVID-19
2021 ISL Team standings after Match Day Six
Teams*Total Score*Match Days Contested*Pts
1.Cali Condors*1799.5*3*11
2. LA Current*1,299.5*3*9
3. Energy Standard*1,152*2*8
4. London Roar*966*2*7
4. Toronto Titans*1,032.5*2*7
6. Aqua Centurions*1,197.5*3*6
7. DC Trident*1,807*3*4
8. Iron*779.5*2*3
9. Tokyo Frog Kings*759*2*3
10. NY Breakers*547.5*2*2