Canisius College men's and women's diving coach Meili Carpenter was named a Sportswomen of Colorado Award honoree on March 10 at the 39th annual Awards Banquet at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center in Denver, Colo. Carpenter was joined by 45 of Colorado's top-female athletes and contributors to women's athletics.

"This is an amazing honor," said Carpenter. "I am especially excited that the award mentions coaching contributions to the sport of diving, because of the impact it can have on the growth of the Canisius diving program!"

A Boulder, Colo. native, Carpenter was selected by a panel of local media for her contributions to the sport of diving as both an athlete and coach.

In her third season as the Golden Griffins' diving coach, Carpenter has changed the face of the program. Since her arrival, the 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Diving Coach of the Year has helped the Griffs rewrite three of the four combined program records. This season, sophomore Taylor Epstein set the program mark in the 1-meter event and freshman Audrey Mulhisen set the standard in the 3-meter portion. Last season, sophomore Eddie Quarantillo broke the school's 3-meter record, which previously stood for 18 years.

"Meili has raised the level of our diving program in the time that she has been here to a top-notch program," said Canisius men's and women's swimming and diving head coach Scott Vanderzell. "Being awarded MAAC Diving Coach of the Year in 2012, shows the great progress she has brought to the program."

Along with her coaching responsibilities, Carpenter competed at the 2012 Olympic trials, finishing eighth overall after qualifying at the 2011 USA Diving Winter National Championships.

A two-time All-American in the one-meter diving at Fairview High School, Carpenter went on to have a storied career at the University at Buffalo. At UB, she earned All-MAC honors four times and was a three-time Division I NCAA qualifier in the platform, and 1- and 3-meter events. In addition, she was a finalist in the National Diving Championship in both the 1- and 3-meter events in 2010.