Kyle Vasel tied for second individually at the Fairway Club Invitational during the first weekend of the fall, 2002 golf season. His 54-hole score of 212 was the best by an Illinois State player all season. In the last meet of the year, Vasel opened the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a tournament-best round of 68. In between, the sophomore from Greenville led a balanced Redbird team all season long. For those efforts, Vasel is receiving the 2003 D.A. Weibring Endowed Scholarship.
Established in 1994 with proceeds from D.A. Weibring Redbird Golf Classics, the scholarship is named for the former Redbird golfer who later starred on the PGA Tour. It honors a Redbird golf student-athlete who shows performance and dedication. In 1995, the endowment became the first at Illinois State to be fully funded.
A marketing major, Vasel (pronounced VAY-sul) contributed to Illinois States 2002 Missouri Valley Conference title as a freshman. He had the No. 1 stroke average on the team (74.1) this season, leading ISU to second place at the Valley Tournament--just two strokes short of back-to-back titles.
Redbird golf coach Harland Kilborn, a close friend of Weibrings, compares Vasel favorably to the former Redbird star.
In a lot of ways, hes like D.A., said Kilborn. He is dedicated to the game and, with his strong work ethic, is always prepared to play no matter what the golf course and no matter what the conditions. Kyle is an exceptionally hard worker and that has paid off for him.
Vasel believes its an honor to have his name associated with Weibrings.
D.A. is very respected on the PGA Tour and throughout golf because of his work ethic, said Vasel, and that makes it a great honor to be selected and just to be mentioned with him. You gain respect from working hard and thats what coach expects out of everybody and everybody on the team expects from each other.
Like Weibring, Vasel would enjoy a career in golf after college.
Id like to continue working hard in golf and see where it takes me, said Vasel.
The D.A. Weibring Endowed Scholarship is one of 12 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes funded by private donors. Six of them are already fully-funded, including the Weibring Endowed Scholarship. For information about supporting Illinois State University endowments for student-athletes, call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803.
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