COLUMBUS, Ohio.? Led by senior Kari Retrum on the boards and a school-best fifth place finish in the 200-free relay the University of Kentucky women?s swimming and diving team stands 10th place overall after scoring 47 points during night one of the 2008 NCAA Championships.
Retrum recorded her first career top-eight finish on the national stage scoring a sixth place finish on the one-meter board. Her sixth place finish tonight is easily the best of her career, as she scored 303.90 points in tonight?s finals. All six of her dives scored 45 or more points. Her highest tally was her fourth dive that tallied 54.60 points.
The senior qualified for the final eight with a preliminary score of 279.85 in the morning?s round, earning the eighth and final seed to participate in the evening?s finals. Additionally, Retrum was the lone representative of the Southeastern Conference to compete in tonight?s one-meter finals. Last season, Retrum placed 15th overall on the one-meter registering her first career All-America honorable mention distinction.
Kentucky?s 200-free relay team made history for the second consecutive season placing fifth with a time of 1:29.34 tonight. The 2008 squad made history tonight with the highest finish ever for a UK women?s relay at a national event. A season ago, the 2007 team recorded the first top-eight finish in school history when they took seventh overall. Senior Heather Bradford started the race with an impressive first leg swim of 22.52. Classmate Lauren Willis took the second leg and clocked in a pace of 23.04. First-year NCAA participant sophomore Megan Pulskamp registered a split time of 22.28 on the third leg. Senior Jenny Bradford brought it home for the Blue and White swimming in a split time of 21.50 tapping the wall for a fifth place finish for the Wildcats.
Jenny Bradford recorded her third consecutive top-11 finish in the 50-freestyle this evening, an unprecedented accomplishment. She is the only women?s swimmer in school history to place in the top-10 in an event in three consecutive seasons. Bradford touched in 11th place with a time of 2.34.
Heather Bradford and Lauren Willis were the other competitors in today?s field taking part in the 50-free. Bradford placed 20th overall in a time of 22.60, with Willis placing 61st clocking in a time of 23.34. Bradford has also competed in the 50-free in three consecutive seasons, with a top finish of 16th overall at the 2007 Championships. She recorded a career-best time in the event earlier this spring when she earned bronze at the SEC Championships. Willis is a back-to-back participant in the event, having placed 32nd a season ago in the event.
The UK women?s swimming and diving team returns to action tomorrow at Ohio State. Friday?s events that include UK athletes consist of the 200-medley relay, 100-butterfly, 100-breaststroke and three-meter diving. Kentucky is seeded 14th in the relay. Jenny and Heather Bradford and Pulskamp are among the competitors in the 100-fly, with senior Lindsay Myhre included in the 100-breast field. Retrum will return to the boards for the Wildcats with the three-meter event tomorrow.
Complete results of the Kentucky swimming and diving team at the NCAA Championships can be found at www.ukathletics.com.
