FEDERICA PELLEGRINI AND AQUA CENTURIONS CONQUER

Federica Pellegrini and The Aqua Centurions Conquer Naples

An ecstatic home crowd took the Aqua Centurions to third place on the first day of the ISL's first stop in Europe. Caeleb Dressel took his Cali Condors to the top of the ranking.

NAPLES –

"Federica, Federica, Federica" - the cheers of the Naples crowd turned from already vastly supportive to overly ecstatic when Federica Pellegrini entered the pool deck for her first individual swim of the inaugural International Swimming League (ISL). And although the Olympic Champion, who took time off after winning her fourth gold in the 200 m freestyle at the Word Championships this summer, finished fourth in her signature event won by 400 m World Champion Ariarne Titmus, her fans gave her all they got. "It was fantastic, all these emotions. I felt great", Pellegrini said.

The ISL is the first professional league in the history of swimming. The best swimmers of the world, including 41 Olympic Champions from Rio 2016, are competing on behalf of eight clubs in regular season matches across Europe and the United States, with the seasons final being held in Las Vegas in december.

Pellegrini promised teammates and rivals alike a different atmosphere than at the first stop in Indianapolis – and Naples did not disappoint. The Aqua Centurions conquered the city, turning the Piscina Felice Scandone into their own Colosseum. Excited spectators saw the 20 year old Nicolo Martinenghi taking the first and only individual win for the home team. And the Aqua Centurions also won the prestigious 4x100 m medley relay, kicking the DC Trident off third place in ISL rankings after the first night of the second leg. "The Italian crowd helped us so much, this was incredible", Pellegrini said.

On top of the ranking the Cali Condors had to catch up on 82 points to the leading Energy Standard after the kick-off weekend in Indianapolis. A mission not impossible for Condor Caeleb Dressel. The US superstar sat out of the first ISL match, which saw sprint champions like Florent Manaudou lead Energy Standard to their victory. But with the six-time World Champion in the already strong mix, who beat Manaudou in the 50 m freestyle, Olympic Champion Lilly King taking the wins in the two breaststroke events, and newly added Dressel power to the relays, the Cali Condors where able to not only make good on the 82 point. The Cali Condors, now at 237.5 points, even pushed Energy Standard (230) of the top, followed by Aqua Centurions (174) and DC Trident (162.5).

"This was one of the best meets I have ever been to", ISL ambassador Dressel said after his historic first day in the league. "The fans, the light show, the music – it was very exciting, with a great energy", Dressel said, giving a huge thanks to the fans: "The Italian crowd was very special tonight."

In fact, the naturally biased crowd loved Dressel, who himself enjoyed interacting with the fans during his breaks. "This was a really fun meet. I think this is great for the sport. It is so cool to be a part of it, to be able to watch this grow."

Like Olympic Champion Manaudou, who was king of the skins races in Indianapolis, Dressel is looking forward to what might me the highlight of the second day in Naples. "I have never really done skins before", he said about the series of back-to-back races on a knockout basis with two swimmers - most likely Manaudou and Dressel - going head-to-head in the final round.

"There is already kind of a friendly rivalry going on between our teams", Dressel said smiling: "I enjoy a good rivalry."