Canada's Masse, Cieplucha claim wins but Toronto Titans fall in ISL semifinals
Club finishes 5th in standings with top 4 advancing to final
Canadian Olympians Kylie Masse and Tessa Cieplucha claimed wins for the Toronto Titans at the International Swimming League (ISL) semifinal match on Sunday in Eindhoven, Netherlands — but it ultimately wasn't enough as the club failed to advance to the the final.
Only the top four semifinalists are moving on, and the Titans finished just one spot away in the standings with six club points behind Energy Standard (11), Cali Condors (11), London Roar (10) and LA Current (8).
Team Iron (5), Aqua Centurions (5) and DC Trident (4) rounded out the standings after the semifinal stage, which saw each team compete in three matches. The Season 3 final will be held Dec. 3-4 in Eindhoven.
Masse, a 25-year-old from LaSalle, Ont., touched first with a time of 56.24 seconds in the women's 100-metre backstroke to give the Titans their first win of the day. American Lisa Bratton finished fourth for Toronto.
Masse had already won the women's 50 backstroke on Saturday to give the Titans hope for their late push entering the final day of the final semifinal match.
Georgetown, Ont's Cieplucha swam to victory in the women's 400 individual medley on Sunday with a time of 4:28.97. The 23-year-old finished ahead of two-time U.S. Olympian Hali Flickinger of the Condors (4:29.82).
Kayla Sanchez of Toronto added a third-place finish for the Titans in the women's 100 individual medley in 58.2 seconds, while Sweden's Louise Hansson finished one spot behind Sanchez for the Titans.
Sanchez, who won two medals in Tokyo, also finished fifth in the women's 200 freestyle.
Pont-Rouge, Que., native Katerine Savard claimed a third-place finish for the Condors in the women's 200 freestyle (1:54.60).
Savard will join fellow Canadians Sydney Pickrem (London Roar), Mary-Sophie Harvey (Energy Standard), Ingrid Wilm (LA Current) and Javier Acevedo (LA Current) in the ISL final.
