ROCHESTER, N.Y. – It has been almost five years since Roberts Wesleyan University announced the creation of the Millie Ignizio Bowling Merit Scholarship.

The endowed scholarship, which is funded by an anonymous donor, honors Ignizio, the greatest women's bowler in Rochester history.

The $7,500 scholarship, which is renewable for up to four seasons, is open to graduates of Section V high schools who have achieved high academic and athletic success while demonstrating a strong commitment to community service.

Roberts, which is the only college athletic program in the Rochester area to offer women's bowling, has awarded the scholarship to three student-athletes – junior Rebecca Spry, sophomore Kaylee Stephens and freshman Michelle Cummings – and the scholarship has proven to be mutually beneficial for both the Redhawks and those who have received it.

"We are blessed by a special friend who caught the vision to honor a bowler from the Rochester and Section V area with this support," Executive Director of Athletics Bob Segave said. "The recipients are excellent all-around student-athletes who excel in the classroom, in their service to the community and are great women leaders in competition who reflect the example of Millie Ignizio. Coach Marion Sullivan deserves a tremendous amount of credit for locating these talented young ladies and helping to bring them to Roberts."

"It has definitely been a bonus for us," Sullivan said. "When you combine the Millie Ignizio Scholarship with the different financial aid pieces we have, that's allowed us to recruit student-athletes that we may not have been able to recruit before.

"If you do well in the classroom, well on the lanes, and you're a good teammate who participates in any other sort of community service, we're able to reward you for all of that."

The scholarship was life-changing for Spry, its first recipient.

"If I didn't get the scholarship, I probably would have ended up at community college then had to find somewhere else to go," said Spry, a Newark graduate who was a two-time state champion and three-time All-Greater Rochester selection in high school. "It really just gave me a new possibility to get a better education at a school with a small community where I could meet really good people."

Spry, a junior Physical Education major, was a key contributor to the Redhawks' run to the East Coast Conference finals last spring and is enjoying a solid junior season with a per frame average of 17.43, and strike percentage of 32.4%.

She started bowling at age 7 along with the Kent family, which includes PBA and USBC Hall of Famer Doug Kent, and his daughter Natalie, Spry's high school classmate and teammate who is a member of Vanderbilt University's second-ranked women's bowling team.

"I was introduced to it by the Kents," Spry said. "They took me under their wing and taught me everything they know. I definitely wouldn't be where I am now if I didn't have them."

Spry, who has a career-high game of 287 and a high series of 763, is grateful for the opportunities that the scholarship has provided for her.

"I'm honored to be the first and I'm very happy that I get to be followed up by those two," Spry said of Stephens and Cummings. "It feels very special to be honored for what I did in Section V and in Rochester."

Stephens began bowling at the age of 5 and was a member of the Brockport varsity team for six seasons.

A team captain in high school, she became aware of the Roberts program around her junior season when she started looking at colleges and appreciates that the Millie Ignizio Merit Scholarship represents more than athletic performance.

"It's very important to me," said Stephens, who is a Music Education major. "For me, it's always been academics first, then bowling, work, and then the rest. I'm trying to always maintain that integrity."

A third-team All-ECC selection in 2024-25, Stephens was honored as ECC Rookie of the Week twice last March. She has an overall per frame average of 16.93 this season with an overall fill percentage of 72.6%.

Stephens is aware of Ignizio's impact on the bowling and Rochester communities and admires the generosity and passion of the donor.

"I sincerely appreciate that someone cares that much about the bowlers in Section V and that they are able to help them continue their
bowling careers," Stephens said. "It's very special. I didn't really realize it until I talked to my teammates. All of a sudden, there was only one other girl at the time that had the scholarship. So, I was like, 'Oh wow, this is pretty cool to have.'"

Cummings, a first-year Adolesence Education-Biology major from Victor, comes from a family of bowlers and was well aware of Ignizio's legacy, which includes 10 professional victories and being the youngest woman inducted into the Women's International Bowling Congress (now USBC) Hall of Fame.

"I knew who Millie Ignizio was because my whole family is obsessed with bowling," Cummings said. "I didn't know that there was a scholarship in her name. When I found out, I was like, 'That's pretty cool.' My grandpa loved her."

Cummings helped Victor to a third-place finish in sectionals as a senior and has already been named ECC Rookie of the Week twice this season.

"Getting the scholarship was nice," Cummings said. "It took a decent load off my mind knowing I wouldn't have to worry about as much for tuition, so I was very thankful to get that scholarship."

Cummings also appreciates the donor's generosity and passion for bowling.

"To me it just shows how much love someone has for the sport that they are willing to do something so nice to help others succeed in what they want to do, I feel like that is a pretty big thing," Cummings said.

Six of the eight bowlers on the Roberts roster this season are Section V alumni and Sullivan said the Millie Ignizio Scholarship has helped provide opportunities to keep some of them close to home.

"It's nice because it helps to give them a little bit more incentive to stay in the area," she said. "They don't necessarily have to seek out opportunities elsewhere, so it's been very beneficial to be able to keep some of the local talent in the area and build our program around them. That's been very helpful for us and hopefully to the girls as well.

"You're always trying to find the right balance with bringing in girls and being able to reward them properly. This has been a great help for the Section V bowlers."