June 2, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State golfer Eric Meier was awarded the 2011 D.A. Weibring Endowed Scholarship Thursday, after being recognized for his growing merit within ISU academics and athletics. Meier is the 16th recipient of the award.
"Eric has pushed himself as both a student and athlete at Illinois State and has enjoyed success in both areas due to his efforts," said head men's golf coach Ray Kralis. "He is certainly worthy of the D.A. Weibring Endowment because of his commitment to being the best he can be and his drive and desire to positively impact this program. While he has obviously experienced a great deal of success in achieving this award, I look for his senior year to be his best yet. He is a very determined young man who is very complete in his preparation, and that combination is pretty special and opens the door for great things to happen."
The Normal, Ill., native excelled during the 2010-11 season, as he was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team and was awarded the MVC Golfer of the Week Award (Sept. 23, 2010) for his efforts at the Cardinal Intercollegiate, where he finished with a season-best three-under-par 213 (66-75-72). Meier competed in 31 rounds in 11 tournaments and recorded a season stroke average of 74.0. Meier tied for fourth at the Cardinal Intercollegiate after firing a 3-under-par 213 (66-75-72) and finished the MVC tournament in a five-way tie for 11th place after recording a three-round 231 (79-80-72).
"It means a lot to get the endowment," said Meier. "It is a great honor to be recognized, especially since it is named after the greatest alumni in our sport. I have put in a lot of work in my three years at ISU, and I am looking forward to one more year and ending my career on a strong note. The team is going to have to have the guys returning and newcomers working together in order to be successful. We lost a lot in Jeff (Kellen), and we need to do a lot to replace him. The guys coming back have to keep working hard and making improvements in order to win the Valley title."
The Weibring Endowed Scholarship was created in 1994 with proceeds from the D.A. Weibring Redbird Classic. The scholarship is named after the former Redbird golfer, Donald Albert Weibring, Jr., who starred on the PGA Tour and is currently a member of the Champions Tour.
In the summer of 2007, the Illinois State Board of Trustees approved the renaming of the Illinois State Golf Course to Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University in honor of Weibring.
The endowment rewards a Redbird golf student-athlete who excels both in academics and athletics. In 1995, it became the first athletics endowment to become fully funded at Illinois State.
The D.A. Weibring Endowed Scholarship is one of 23 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes that are funded by private donors. For more information about establishing an endowed scholarship, please call the Weisbecker Scholarship Fund office at (309) 438-3803.
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