TROY, N.Y. - Mike Dowd swam on the third place 200 medley relay team and had a fourth place finish in the 50 freestyle to help the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's swimming & diving team to third place after the first day of the four-day Liberty League Championship, which is being held at the Kelsey Partridge Bird Natatorium on the campus of Ithaca College.

Dowd, a sophomore, swam a 21.12 in the 50 free to finish fourth before taking the anchor leg on the 200 medley relay team, which was third to touch the wall. The unit registered a 1:34.15 with Dowd going 20.65. Tony Min, Nicholas Stefanidis and Lorenzo Gurri also competed for the Engineers, the five-time defending champions.

The relay team's third place finish was matched by senior diver Matt Abraham, who recorded a 395.15 in the 3-meter competition. He trailed a pair from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), which also had the fourth place diver.

Ethan Gadbois reached the A final in the 500 free and clocked a 4:45.46 to finish in sixth place. He was just a second out of fifth (4:44.45).

RPI had seven individuals and a relay team race in B finals, including four in the 500 meters.

RIT leads the nine-school event with 449 points, followed by Ithaca's 430 points. Rensselaer has 303 points and Vassar College sits in fourth with 240 points.

Action continues on Thursday with preliminaries starting at 10am.