BURNSVILLE, MINN. – Three University of Sioux Falls Softball standouts, Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag, Damaris Cuevas and Frankie Mickelson have been honored by the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference which announced its end of the season awards on Wednesday (April 12).

Van Der Zwaag, a sophomore pitcher/utility standout from Hull, Iowa, was named to the All-NSIC First Team while Cuevas, a freshman catcher/DP from Omaha, Neb., earned All-NSIC Second Team honors. In addition, senior center fielder Frankie Mickelson of Rochester, Minn., was named to the NSIC Gold Glove Team.

 

All three USF standouts helped lead USF to its seventh straight NSIC Tournament appearance in a season in which the Cougars have a 21-22 overall record and 15-14 record in the NSIC for ninth place. The trio will help lead USF in the opening round of the tournament which opens against Minot State at 10 am on Thursday, May 13 in Rochester, Minn. With the honoring of Van Der Zwaag, Cuevas and Mickelson, USF now has 18 All-NSIC honorees (1st or 2nd Team). Van Der Zwaag is the fifth first team honoree at USF while Cuevas is the 13th All-NSIC second team honoree. Mickelson is USF's  third Gold Glove recipient although the first center fielder.

"Individual awards highlight the caliber of work a team does in a year. Kait, Damaris, and Frankie are leaders in each one of their positions and for our entire team," said USF Head Coach Shannon Pivovar. "Their successes have driven us to some special moments this season and I am so proud of the work they have put in. For it to be noticed by others in the league shows just how visible they were all year," she said.
 
In earning her first career All-NSIC honor, Van Der Zwaag has been a standout in the pitcher's circle and as an infielder/DP. She owns an 11-9 record with a 3.35 earned run average in 2021 when she has started 20 games and made 26 appearances. Van Der Zwaag has 10 complete games, two shutouts and a team-high 111 strikeouts. She has thrown a team-high 135.2 innings and allowed 65 earned runs while walked just 26 batters. In the field, the Hull, Iowa standout has been a standout at first base and has a .982 fielding mark with 31 assists and just three errors. She also leads USF with six home runs and 32 RBI. In 43 starts, she has 30 hits in 115 at bats for a .261 average. In addition, the junior has 51 total bases, a.443 slugging mark and .393 on-base percentage.  Van Der Zwaag is 17-17 in her career with 245.1 innings and 55 appearances with 32 starts and 183 strikeouts.

Van Der Zwaag owns five multi-hit games this year and 13 in her career with 11 career multi-RBI games - 10 this year, which leads USF. In a 9-6 win over Winona State, she had two hits including a three-run home run which was the game-winning hit. She hit her first career grand slam in the 11-2 win over Minot State. Van Der Zwaag tossed a five-inning no-hitter over U-Mary (15-0) as she didn't walk a hitter and had eight strikeouts. She also had a marathon stretch in the circle with eight decisions, including five straight.  A biology/business administration major, she was named to the 2020 NSIC All-Academic Team.

"Kait has been a staple in the pitcher's circle and at the plate this year. She is one of the hardest workers we have on our team, and as a leader by example encourages others to emulate the work she does. When I think of her successes this year I really recall those times she dug in the trenches and carried our team on her back - the 13.2 innings at Wayne, the Northern/Moorhead trip -  she is a competitor in every sense of the word and I'm so proud of her," said Pivovar.

In her first season at USF, Cuevas a freshman majoring in business administration, has made an impact. She ranks third in the NSIC and 49th in NCAA DII in batting average at .436. In 38 games with 34 starts, Cuevas has two home runs, including a go-ahead two-run home run against No. 1 Augustana in a 2-1 victory earlier this season. She has 20 RBI, 60 total bases and 44 hits in 101 at bats. Cuevas has a .594 slugging and .473 on-base percentage while fielding 1.000 with 12 assists and 131 putouts. 

The standout from Omaha, Neb., has 13 multi-hit and seven multi-RBI games, and had a 10-game hitting streak this year. She has had three hits in a game four times. On April 17 in the 14-2 win over NSU, she had her career-best with four RBI. Cuevas ranks second all-time in USF's DII era in batting average (Brooke Stetzler, 2016, .439, 189 ab). She is third all-time at USF dating back to 2000 with Kristin Kono owning the school mark of .477 in 2004.
 
"Damaris is a special player who has really developed into a critical piece of our program this season. She has an excellent mentor in Emmie (Uitts) to push her, guide her, and teach her every day. Damaris' swing is powerful and while she continues to grow into the college game, she will only get better and better. I'm proud of her successes and can't wait to see her future," Pivovar said.

 

 A senior leader and outstanding center fielder, Mickelson, who hit over .300 twice in her career (.312, 2017 & .316, 2020), has had an impact at USF and been part of 118 victories through five seasons. Mickelson is one of the league's top defensive stalwarts as she has a .974 career fielding percentage and this year recorded a 1.000 fielding percentage with 68 putouts and three assists. In 280 chances in her career, she has just seven errors and none in 2021.

Mickelson was named in April, 2021 as USF's Gibby Award recipient for her perseverance and character in recognition of her comeback from the car accident nearly a year ago. She ranks in the top-10 in 12 statistical categories in USF's DII era, including playing in 194 games, which ranks third all-time as does her 186 career starts. Mickelson is third in at bats with 542, third in stolen bases with 30, fifth in hits with 151, sixth in RBI with 73, seventh in runs with 83 and eighth in home runs with 14.

"I simply have not met a more determined person in my life than Frankie. You could not write a better story of her last 10 months than her receiving this honor. Frankie is our heartbeat and she is just a huge asset for us in center field. She is constantly working to better herself, learning from mistakes and celebrating successes, and that gives her that edge out there. I'm so happy for her - genuinely happy for her," Pivovar said.

This season, Mickelson, who is hitting .227 in 43 starts with five doubles and nine RBI, has had 19 games with a hit, including six multi-hit games. In her career, she has scored 83 runs, and twice hit five home runs in a season (2019, 2020) with 14 for her career. She has totaled 223 bases and fashioned a .484 career slugging mark and .312 on-base percentage with 30 steals in 35 attempts. In addition, she has had at least one hit in 106 games with 32 multi-hit games, including three games with a career-best four hits. 

A social work major, Mickelson has been named Academic All-NSIC three times, All-NSIC Team of Excellence member twice, and earned NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete honors.