Warren's Sowa is a hit at Drake

Drake freshman Megan Sowa, a former Warren standout, was named to the Missouri Valley all-conference first team in softball.

Sowa has established herself at the plate and in the outfield for the Bulldogs in her first season. The freshman is hitting a team-leading .393 behind a team-high 55 hits and also leads the team in triples with two, on-base percentage at .469 and is second in steals with 7. She has started the last 47 games and appeared in 50 this season. She has flashed a solid glove in left field with just one error, 68 putouts and a stellar .986 fielding percentage.

Women's track

Augustana senior Kelsey Moon (Mundelein) was the female winner of the Knut Erickson Award at the annual Blanket Awards Dinner in Rock Island.

Moon, a middle distance runner in track and field and also a member of the women's cross country team, was given the Knut Erickson Award that goes to the female athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point averages among the senior blanket award winners.

In order to receive a varsity "A" letter blanket, an Augustana athlete has to be in the same sport for four years and must letter at least three times. A total of 74 seniors (33 women and 41 men) received the blanket at the annual ceremony, which was held in the College Center.

Moon was a four-year letter winner in cross country and track and field.

Along with being a letter winner each year, she was also an Academic All-CCIW selection for all four years for both sports. She graduated with a degree in biology, finishing with a grade-point average of 3.89.

Women's tennis

Augustana sophomore Aileen MacDonald (Mundelein) and senior Kim Sawyer posted the only doubles win for Vikings in the CCIW meet. MacDonald and Sawyer defeated Wheaton's Lauren Schlabach and Emily Jones 8-2 at the No. 2 slot to raise their record to 15-6 for the season.

Women's golf

Emma Hoskins of Libertyville High School has committed to play at Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon will enter its first year of competing at the intercollegiate level for the 2014-2015 school year.

Women's gymnastics

Northern Illinois senior Kim Gotlund (Warren) has been been named to the Academic All Mid-American Conference team.

Gotlund, a three-time All-MAC gymnast, was named to the Academic All-MAC team for the third time.

She graduated from NIU last weekend in health sciences/pre-physical therapy with a 3.8 grade point average.

Gotlund was a two-time first-team All Mid-American Conference gymnast and twice was selected as an individual competitor at the NCAA Regionals.

She finished her career this past April at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional after competing in every meet as an all-arounder for the Huskies over the last three seasons, and serving as a team captain all three years. In 2014, she placed a career-best third at the MAC Championships in the all-around. During the course of her NIU career, she performed 147 routines, achieving career-highs of at least 9.800 in all four events.

• NIU sophomore Natalie Amadio (Lake Zurich) earned honorable mention Academic All-MAC recognition.

Softball

• First, Charleston Southern's Mandi Matsumoto (Fremd) was named to the All-Freshman Team in the Big South Conference.

This past week, the Bucaneers leadoff batter was named the all-tournament team of Big South Softball Championship.

Matusmoto helped the Crusaders become the first No. 7 seed to win the Big South as they defeated No. 1 Coastal Carolina, 3-1, to earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA championships.

Charleston Southern (27-31-1) is now 2-1 all-time in Big South Championship games and won its first championship since the inaugural tournament in 1988. The Buccaneers never trailed throughout the championship, defeating No. 2 Longwood twice and the top-seeded Chanticleers (41-15).

• Winona State sophomore Hanna Lythberg (Prospect) helped her team go 46-7 and secure the No. 1 seed in the NCAA D-II Central Region tournament.

Lythberg is currently fifth in the Northern Sun conference with a 2.20 ERA and third in wins (22-3).

She defeated Augustana of South Dakota, 3-1, with 8 strikeouts to win the Northern Sun Conference tournament and guarantee Winona State an automatic bid into the D-II tournament.

Lythberg was also selected to the Northern Sun Conference's all-conference first team and received the league's 'Newcomer of the Year' award.

As a freshman, Lythberg played at Valdosta State University in Georgia (16-6, conference best 1.94 ERA) where she helped her team to a World Series berth and then decided to transfer to Winona State.

• North Central junior first baseman Kiersten Tinkoff (Barrington) was named to the second team of the CCIW all-conference team.

• Philadelphia University utility player Renee Kakareka (Schaumburg) was named to the All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference second team.

Kakareka has served as a pitcher, right fielder, and designated player for the Rams during the 2014 season.

As a hitter, she is ninth in the CACC in hitting with a team-leading .391 batting average and has driven in 16 runs. In the pitching circle, Karakera is 3-1 with a 3.75 earned run average and 30 strikeouts in 37.1 innings.

Philadelphia finished the regular season 25-14, 15-11 in the CACC.

• Wisconsin-Whitewater junior third baseman Jo Jablonski (Palatine) was named first team all-conference in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

She has been in the starting lineup every game this season for the Warhawks, who have advanced to the NCAA Division III Super Regional hosted by Illinois Wesleyan this Friday and Saturday.

Jablonski, named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Player of the Week earlier this season, is hitting .383 with 6 homers and 26 RBI.

She has drawn 11 walks and sacrifice bunted nine times, both second most on the team this season. Her .619 slugging percentage is tenth best in the WIAC this season. Jablonski was named First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District earlier this season.

• University of Chicago sophomore Devan Parkison (Elk Grove) batted .287 with 17 runs and teammate Maggie O'Hara (Barrington) hit .308 with 19 runs as the Maroons (25-10) reached the Division II postseason for the eighth time and second in three years.

• Please email Sports Notes items to jleusch@dailyherald.com.