Canada’s Masse and Pickrem claim victories in the final match of the ISL.

Canada’s Masse and Pickrem claim victories in the final match of the ISL. The Toronto Titans are in fourth place after the first day of their final regular-season contest in the International Swimming League, while the Energy Standard is in first place after another excellent performance on Thursday in Naples, Italy.

With a close triumph in the women’s 50-meter backstroke (26.23 seconds), Canadian Olympic medalist Kylie Masse earned the Titans their fourth win of the match, but it wasn’t enough to lift Toronto up the match standings.

Sydney Pickrem, a fellow Canadian Olympian, won the women’s 200 individual medley to help the London Roar move up to second place in the ISL season, touching the wall in 2:04.59, the fastest time of the season.

Energy Standard is in first place with 300.5 points heading into the last day, followed by London (227), D.C. Trident (193), and Toronto (185.5).

4-time Olympic medalist Kylie Masse swims to ISL win

Kylie Masse of Lasalle, Ont., won the 50-metre backstroke race at the ISL event in Naples, Italy on Thursday, clocking a mark of 26.53 seconds.

The top six teams in the regular season standings automatically progress to the playoffs, while the lowest four teams will compete for the two remaining post-season slots in a play-in wildcard match on Sept. 29-30.

Along with Energy Standard and the London Roar, Toronto has already clinched a playoff berth, while D.C. Trident will play in next week’s play-in match.

The Titans took an early lead after winning the first three events of the day, led by a number of Canadian Olympians.

Louise Hansson kicked things off for Toronto by winning the women’s 100 butterfly in a time of 55.67 to earn 10 points, and Marius Kusch followed up with a win in the men’s 100 butterfly in a time of 49.73 to collect nine points.

With a 1-2 finish in the women’s 200 backstrokes, the Titans scored 17 points to their total. Lisa Bratton (2:02:42) finished slightly ahead of Masse (2:02:45), who surged late to finish second.

With a time of 2:03.58, fellow Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey finished third, giving Energy Standard six points.

Energy Standard then went on to win six consecutive races to take the lead while Toronto slipped behind, including a huge victory in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay that put them in front.

Energy Standard scored 27 points when Evgenii Rylov won the men’s 200 backstrokes (1:49.93) and Evgeniia Chikunova won the women’s 200 breaststrokes (2:17.57).

In the process, Chikunova set a new world junior record.

Bailey Andison of Canada came in second for the Trident with a time of 2:19:66, earning seven points.

Sarah Sjostrom, Femke Heemskerk, Siobhan Haughey, and Fanny Teijonsalo dominated the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay for Energy Standard, winning by 38 points in 3:28:88.

With a time of 3:29:81, Canada’s Kayla Sanchez, Kasia Wasick, Michelle Coleman, and Hansson placed second and earned 14 points for the Titans.

Sydney Pickrem of Canada wins the ISL in Naples.

Sydney Pickrem of the London Roar won an ISL title in the 200 metres individual medley on Thursday in Naples, Italy, with the timing of 2:04.59.

With a winning time of 20.84 in the men’s 50 freestyle, Ben Proud earned 12 additional points for Energy Standard, while four-time Canadian Olympian Brent Hayden finished sixth to offer Toronto three points.

Toronto added seven more points with a second-place finish in the men’s 200 individual medley, with Finlay Knox of Canada touching the wall in 1:52.70, just a second behind winner Andreas Vazaios of the Trident (1:52.24).

Pickrem won the women’s 200 individual medley to give the Roar their first win of the match, finishing ahead of Harvey in second (2:05.30). Andison of the Trident and Tessa Cieplucha of the Titans, both from Canada, came in third and fourth, respectively.

In the men’s 50 breaststrokes, Energy Standard’s Ilya Shymanovich scored 19 points, while the team as a whole scored 26 points.

With timings of 25.56 and 26.18, Shymanovich and Felipe Lima finished 1-2 for Energy Standard.

Kayla Sanchez, a Canadian Olympic medalist, finished seventh in the women’s 50 breaststrokes for the Titans in a time of 31.27, with Alia Atkinson of the Roar winning by 19 points.

Yuri Kisil of Canada, along with Hayden, Kusch, and Blake Pieroni, helped the Titans to a second-place finish in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay (3:08.06). Kyle Chalmers, Dylan Carter, Katsumi Nakamura, and Edward Mildred of the Roar won the event in 3:06.50.

Masse won the women’s 50 backstrokes for nine points for Toronto, and Luc Kroon won the men’s 400 freestyle in 3:40.74 for 11 points for the team.

In the men’s 50 backstrokes, Canada’s Cole Pratt finished eighth, earning no points for the Titans, while teammate Shane Ryan finished second in a timing of 23.39 seconds behind London’s Guilherme Guido (22.73).

With a timing of 3:49.34, Masse helped the Titans finish third in the women’s 4×100 medley, while the Roar (3:48.58) won the race ahead of second-place finishers Energy Standard (3:48.96).

Energy Standard finished the day with a convincing win in the men’s 4×100 medley, extending their lead to 24 points and giving them even more momentum heading into the final day of the competition.