Carpenter and McDowell Sweep Weekly MAC Scholar-Athlete Awards

BUFFALO, NY – University at Buffalo sophomores Meili Carpenter (Boulder, CO/Fairview) and Michael McDowell (Rush, NY/Rush Henrietta) have been selected as the Mid-American Conference’s Women’s and Men's Scholar-Athletes of the Week, the league announced from its Cleveland headquarters on Thursday.

Meili Carpenter

Carpenter, a chemistry and psychology major with a 3.83 GPA, became the first UB women’s athlete to qualify for the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. She won the platform diving competition at the NCAA Zone A Championships at UB's Alumni Arena Natatorium on March 16 with a 10-dive total of 413.90 points. Carpenter also finished fifth on the one-meter and sixth on the three-meter boards at the zone meet. She is one of five individuals from Zone A to compete at this weekend's NCAA National Championships in Columbus, Ohio. On Thursday, Carpenter finished 27th of 40 on the one-meter board.

Michael McDowell

McDowell, a mathematics major with a 3.778 GPA, became the first UB men’s athlete since Kyle Depold in 1992 to qualify for the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships. He is the first UB men's diver to reach the National Championhips. McDowell earned the spot in the field thanks to his second-place finish in the platform competition at the zone meet at Alumni Arena Natatorium. He also finished fifth on the three-meter and ninth on the one-meter springboards. The Men's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships will be March 27-29 in Federal Way, WA.

Both Carpenter and McDowell earned the MAC Scholar-Athlete Award earlier this season. Carpenter was named the women's winner on December 6 and McDowell won the honor on November 15. Three other UB women, women's soccer player Andrea Vescio (Niagara Falls, Ontario/A.N. Myer) and indoor track and field athletes Patrice Coney (Lyons, NY/Lyons) and Tina Villa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs), have also won the MAC's Scholar-Athlete of the Week award this school year.

The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during that week’s competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference’s faculty athletic representatives.