Corey Main's disappointing display in the 100m backstroke semifinal capped a mixed day one for New Zealand in the pool.
Main, New Zealand's best medal hope other than para-star Sophie Pascoe, qualified fourth fastest for the semifinals, only to regress and scrape into the finals in seventh place, 1.87 secondsbehind Australian favourite Mitch Larkin.
After setting a definitive goal of breaking through to claim his first Commonwealth Games medal, Florida-based Main knows he must improve to achieve that long-held goal on Friday.
"I definitely would have liked to have gone faster," Main said after his semi. "I've got a few things to work on. I need to get better at my speed and holding it over the first 50m."
On a brighter note, New Zealand has two outside medal chances in Friday's 50m butterfly final after Sam Perry and Dan Hunter stepped up to go under 24 seconds and both notch personal bests.
Hunter qualified fifth, 0.40 seconds behind South Africa's Chad le Clos, while the second personal best of the day pushed Perry into sixth.
"It's always great to have another Kiwi in the marching room," Hunter said. "It's just 50m. It's one of those things where skills become so important. If one person messes up a dive, it's anyone's race. If everything goes right I've got as good a shot as seven other people to get a medal."
The disqualification of England's Ben Proud, the Commonwealth and world champion, opens the door further for the possibility of either Kiwi sneaking an unlikely medal.
"It's going to be pretty tight for those medals, especially the bronze, so a lot of those guys around 23.9 can step up and have a good swim and take it so it should be exciting," Perry, who has the heats of the 4x100m relay to take care of before the final, said.
"It's great to have the best possible result in my first event and here we are, day one, and in the finals."
As expected, New Zealand's Helena Gasson and Marris Georgia failed to progress from their 100m butterfly semifinals, while Bronagh Ryan finished last in her 50m breatstroke semi, after recording a personal best in her heat.
New Zealand's 4x100m women's freestyle team of of Laticia Transom, Marris, Doyle, Gasson finished well back in their final, upstaged by Australia who set a world record, clocking 3:30.05s to lower their previous mark of 3:30.65.
