The 22nd-ranked Kentucky men?s swimming and diving team stands in 14th place after day one of the 2004 NCAA Men?s Swimming and Diving Championships in East Meadow, N.Y.

The 200-meter freestyle team of sophomore Daniel Farnham, senior Fernando Barros and juniors Tim Patrick and Clay Gasparovich led the way for Kentucky. The quartet entered the day with the 12th-fastest time in the NCAA but finished the day with a 10th-place showing, clocking a 1:28.96. In the afternoon preliminary round, the Kentucky team swam the event in 1:28.08, which converts to 1:18.92 in yards and establishes a new Kentucky record time. The quartet broke the previous school-record time established at a time trial event last month in Athens, Ga., by .07 seconds. The 2003 Wildcat 200-meter relay team placed 13th at the 2003 NCAA Championships.

A serious knee injury from a season ago did little to deter junior Mario Rodriguez, as the Mexico City native placed 12th in the 35-competitor one-meter diving event, putting points on the board for Kentucky. Sophomore Steven Manley completed the 400-meter freestyle event in 3:48.83, good for 14th place overall.

Earlier in the day, Farnham, Patrick and Gasparovich each took part in the 50-meter freestyle, placing 23rd, 41st and 47th, respectively. Kentucky ends the day with 22 points.

Day two of the NCAA Men?s Swimming and Diving Championships begins at 12 p.m. Friday with the 200-meter medley relay. Kentucky is slated to compete in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter freestyle, three-meter diving and 800-meter freestyle relay events.