TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ? For the third straight year, the Kentucky gymnastics team heads to the NCAA Central Regional, looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history.

The Wildcats are one of six teams aiming for two spots out of the toughest regional in the 36-team field. The Central Regional is being hosted by the University of Alabama at Coleman Coliseum. It is UK?s second trip to Tuscaloosa this year, having fallen to the Crimson Tide earlier this year.

Third-ranked Alabama headlines the field that also includes No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 16 Iowa State, No. 19 Michigan State and No. 21 Ohio State. The Wildcats have competed against two of the five teams in the stout field this season.

At Ohio State in early March, UK dropped a tough contest to the Buckeyes. The Wildcats also have a history against Michigan State in the regional, besting the Spartans last year in Baton Rouge.

Kentucky is coming off a seventh-place finish at the SEC Championships two weeks ago. In that meet, Alabama took third.

It is the second time in three years that Alabama has hosted the Central Regional, winning it in 2005 to advance to the NCAA Championships. That year, UK finished behind the Crimson Tide, Cyclones and Auburn.

Individually, senior Krystle Cook will be defending her 2006 NCAA Central Region Vault Championship. Last year, she registered a 9.9 on the event to win the crown and become the first Wildcat to advance to the NCAA Championships in five years.