Professional Bowlers Association

The PBA has announced that Mandy Pezzano, Hawthorne, N.J., has been awarded the 2005 Billy Welu Scholarship. “I didn’t expect to win this award,” said Pezzano, who will be a senior at the University of Pennsylvania. “I definitely hoped I would but I knew that it would be difficult with so many candidates. I am very happy and very excited.” Pezzano, 20, is the granddaughter of PBA Hall of Famer Chuck Pezzano. The philosophy major carries a 3.76 (out of 4.0) grade point average and was named to the Dean’s List in 2003 and 2005. She was also named the University of Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Freshman in 2002. Though the University of Pennsylvania does not have a bowling team, Pezzano has had success on the national bowling level, finishing 9th in the 2005 USBC Collegiate Singles Championships in Milwaukee in May. She qualified for the event by finishing 3rd in the USBC Collegiate Singles Championship Qualifier, becoming the first bowler from an Ivy League University to make the National Championships. Pezzano has won numerous awards for her achievements on and off the lanes, including the 2002 John Jowdy/Columbia 300 Award for Academics and Bowling and the Chuck Pezzano Bowling Writers Association for America Writing/Bowling Award in 2003 and 2005. “This award means a lot to me,” Pezzano, who will attend law school next year, said. “It’s nice whenever I can contribute to my family in a bowling way. It’s a sense of belonging to them, and I am very honored to be a part of the family.” The Billy Welu Scholarship is an award that annually recognizes exemplary qualities in male and female college students who compete in the sport of bowling. As the winner of the scholarship, Pezzano will receive $1,000 toward her college education.