SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth University will send five women to the 2008 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, which will take place March 13-15 at the Nixon Aquatic Center on the campus of Miami University of Ohio. The NCAA announced the official entrants and psych sheet on Thursday.

Samantha Kephart

The total of five Pirates attending the NCAA championships is a new high for the women's team. Brittany Gresset (Jr., Seattle, Wash.), Samantha Kephart (Sr., Santa Maria, Calif.) and Natalie Turner (So., South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) will all compete in the maximum of three individual events. Ashley Lecoq (Fr., Renton, Wash.) will swim one individual event and Christine DeHaven (Fr., Gig Harbor, Wash.) will be part of Whitworth's relays.

Kephart, who holds the NCAA Division III record in the 200 yard butterfly, enters the meet seeded second in that event (2:05.14). She is also seeded fourth in the 100 butterfly (56.53) and 20th in the 500 freestyle (5:06.43).

Turner, an NCAA All-American last season in the 200 and 1,650 freestyles, will compete in both of those races, along with the 500. She is seeded fifth in both the 200 (1:52.41) and 500 (4:59.86) and she is seeded 8th in the 1,650 (17:24.91).

Gresset is seeded 18th in the 50 freestyle (24.08). She will also compete in the 100 freestyle (53.67) and 100 backstroke (1:01.16).

Lecoq is seeded 21st in the 100 butterfly (58.43).

Whitworth will compete in four of the five relays: the 200 medley relay, along with all three freestyle (200, 400 and 800) relays. The Pirates are seeded as high as 8th in the 800 relay.

Click here for the official championship website.