MIAMI, Ohio -- Natalie Turner set a new record in the 500 yard freestyle and the Whitworth University 200 freestyle relay finished in 10th place on the first day of competition at the NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships today at the Nixon Aquatic Center on the campus of the University of Miami (Ohio).

Natalie Turner

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Turner (So., South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) finished fourth in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:58.23, breaking both the Whitworth and Northwest Conference record of 4:59.66 she set at NCAA Div. III championship meet last season. Turner was in 7th place with 100 yards left in the race, but made a strong finish to surpass three other swimmers.

Turner also swam a leg on Whitworth's 200 freestyle relay that finished 10th in a new school record time of 1:37.46. The previous Pirate record of 1:37.67 was set at the 2007 Northwest Conference Championships. Brittany Gresset (Jr., Seattle, Wash.), Ashley Lecoq (Fr., Renton, Wash.) and Samantha Kephart (Sr., Santa Maria, Calif.) also swam on the relay.

Gresset just missed qualifying for the consolation finals of the 50 yard freestyle when she finished 17th in the preliminaries with a time of 24.36. The top 16 swimmers return to compete and score points in the evening final heats.

Kephart finished 37th in the preliminaries of the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:11.59.

The Pirates are in 11th place after the first night of competition with 29 points.

The meet continues on Friday with Turner swimming in the 200 freestyle, Kephart and Lecoq in the 100 butterfly and Gresset in the 100 backstroke. The Pirates will also field relay teams in both the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay.