Webber International's Ramon Hilferink Earns 2015 Billy Welu Scholarship Award
bowlingball.com 9/16/2015The PBA announced that Ramon Hilferink, a junior at Webber International University, has been awarded the PBA's Billy Welu Scholarship award for 2015.
The Welu scholarship was established to annually reco gnize a college student who combines outstanding bowling talents with academic excellence.
As the captain for the Webber International men's bowling team, Hilferink averaged 211.5 for the 2014-15 season and ranked eighth in the collegebowling.com player rankings.
A native of the Netherlands and a member of his country's national bowling team, Hilferink was an NAIA first-team All American and Coaches Bowling Association honorable mention selection for 2014-15. In addition, he received all-tournament honors at the Bulls County Championship and Backhaul Hoosier Championships where he won a team title with Webber International in 2014.
Hilferink comes from a bowling family as his parents own an eight-lane center in the Netherlands. It was after a visit to the Kegel Training Center with his parents while on vacation when he was 13 that he decided he wanted to pursue the sport competitively.
"From my first visit to Kegel, it became my dream to one day bowl in college," Hilferink said. "When I first visited Kegel I was able to bowl there the whole day and I was hooked at that point."
After college, Hilferink hopes to combine a career as a competitor with that of a ball designer for a bowling manufacturer. "After I finish my education in sports management, I would like to continue in the engineering field so that I can make a career in designing bowling balls," he said. "I'm thankful to win the scholarship because that will help with my education goals."
Academically, he is currently pursuing a major in Sport Business Management with a 3.35 GPA and has earned NAIA and NCBCA Academic All-America recognition. He is also a John Davis Memorial Scholarship recipient.
Hilferfink will receive a $1,000 scholarship. To be eligible candidates must be amateur bowlers who are currently in college (preceding the application date) and maintain at least a 2.5 4.0 GPA or equivalent.
Welu, who passed away in 1974, was best known for his expert analysis alongside legendary ABC broadcaster and PBA Hall of Famer Chris Schenkel on the "Pro Bowlers Tour" series. Welu was a two-time PBA Tour champion and a member of the PBA Hall of Fame's inaugural induction class in 1975.
Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling Newsmagazine. www.starsandstrikesbowling.com
