MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.?In the first competition of the 2007 NCAA Championships Kentucky?s 200-freestyle relay team topped their own school-record time on their way to becoming the first relay team in UK history to advance to the finals competition, ensuring at least an eighth place finish.

The quartet of Heather Bradford, Lauren Willis, Nikia Deveaux and Jenny Bradford notched a fifth place finish in the preliminary round this morning with a time of 1:29.23, bettering the 1:29.27 time they set in their winning SEC heat.

Jenny Bradford?s split time of 21.47 topped the field of competitors as the best time in the field.

Heather Bradford claimed her best career time in the 50-freestyle when she placed ninth overall in the preliminary heat in a time of 22.33. She will be among the eight girls in the consolation heat tonight.

Willis also tapped in a career-best time of 22.90 good for 32nd place.

Jenny Bradford will appear in the finals competition tonight for the second consecutive season. She placed fifth in the morning prelim round in a time of 22.25.

The 400-medley relay team comprised of freshman Chatham Penrod, junior Lindsay Myhre and the Bradfords clocked in a time of 3:42.88 for 19th place.

Senior Taryn Ignacio will be among the finalists tonight in the one-meter diving final. She qualified as the fourth place seed while scoring 337.60 points. Her score bested her own UK record (333.30), which she set in her SEC Championship win in February. Junior Kari Retrum will take the one-meter board among the eight divers who qualified for the consolation heat. Retrum finished 16th with a score of 307.15. The finals competition of the NCAA Championships is slated to begin tonight at 7 p.m. CST. Live stats are available at the University of Minnesota?s website www.gophersports.com.

Complete coverage of the University of Kentucky squad can be found at www.ukathletics.com.