MINNEAPOLIS — Augsburg University women’s hockey defender Nora Stepan (JR, Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview HS) and women’s hockey/women’s golf student-athlete Elizabeth Fagerlind (SR, Kasson, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville HS) were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Women’s At-Large Team, it was announced on Tuesday. Stepan is a biochemistry major with a 3.99 grade-point average, while Fagerlind is an accounting/finance major with a 4.00 GPA.
Across all sports, Augsburg student-athletes have now been honored 57 times with College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors since 1981, including 45 honors since 2000 and at least one every year since 2011. Stepan and Fagerlind are the third and fourth Auggie women’s hockey players to ever receive CSC Academic All-America honors, joining Payton Allen, who was a first-team selection in 2023, and Erika Allen, who was a second-team selection in 2016. Fagerlind is also the first Auggie women’s golfer ever to be named a CSC Academic All-American. Both Stepan and Fagerlind were named to the CSC Academic All-District squad in June.
In the women’s at-large category, a total of 45 NCAA Division III student-athletes were selected in three 15-member teams. Fifteen of the 45 student-athletes selected, including Fagerlind, had perfect 4.00 undergraduate GPAs, with 16 more, including Stepan, holding undergraduate GPAs of 3.90 or higher.
Stepan was named as a CCM Hockey/American Hockey Coaches Association Division III All-America West Region first-team honoree and D3HockeyNews.com All-America West Region second-team honoree. She was named Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year this season, while earning All-MIAC honors for the third straight year. She was also named as one of 13 finalists for the AHCA’s 2025 Laura Hurd Award, given annually to the best NCAA Division III women’s hockey player in the country. Stepan led the Auggies this season with 16 goals and 29 points, while second on the team with 13 assists, with a team-high plus-26 plus-minus rating. Her 16 goals were third-most among MIAC players, while her 29 points were tied for third-most and her 12 assists are tied for 11th. Stepan’s 16 goals were the most among all NCAA Division III defenders nationally, with her points total tied for third-most. Stepan was part of an Auggie defense that allowed just 44 goals this season, the fewest among all MIAC teams and tied for 15th-fewest among all NCAA Division III teams.
The MIAC Rookie of the Year in the 2022-23 season, Stepan has played in 82 games in her collegiate career, with 32 goals (t-12th in school history) and 35 assists (t-12th) for 67 career points (12th), a plus-62 plus-minus rating (2nd), nine power-play goals and nine game-winning goals. Stepan earned Academic All-MIAC honors for the second time and will earn AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar honors for the third time this year.
Fagerlind earned the MIAC’s Elite 22 Award in women’s hockey for the second straight year in 2024-25, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA among competing teams in MIAC playoffs in team sports. She was also named as the NCAA Division III Elite 90 honoree in women’s hockey, as the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the NCAA championships final site. A defender in hockey, Fagerlind recorded a goal with four assists for five points in 2024-25, with a plus-three plus-minus rating. In a school-record-tying 107 career games, Fagerlind scored seven goals with 22 assists for 29 points, with three power-play goals, two game-winning goals and a plus-19 career plus-minus rating.
In golf, Fagerlind finished the 2024-25 season with a career-best 84.0 stroke average and .636 (273-156) win-loss percentage, the fourth-best single-season scoring average in school history. Competing in 55.5 rounds in her career, she finished with an 84.61 career stroke average, the second-best career average in program history. She earned Academic All-MIAC honors three times in both golf and hockey, and will earn AHCA/Krampade All-American Scholar honors three times. She was named a Women’s Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar in 2021.
In the CSC Academic All-America program, top student-athletes are originally nominated for inclusion on Academic All-District teams by college and university sports information directors. Student-athletes must have a grade-point average above 3.50 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. The Women’s At-Large category includes student-athletes from 12 NCAA sports — beach volleyball, bowling, crew/rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing and water polo. Sports information directors in each division vote to select Academic All-America honorees and the Academic All-America of the Year in each category.
The Division III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the Division III Academic All-America teams program.
Augsburg’s All-Time CSC (Formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-Americans:
Nora Stepan, women’s hockey (women’s at-large), 2025 (second team)
Elizabeth Fagerlind, women’s hockey/women’s golf (women’s at-large), 2025 (third team)
Charlie Stuhl, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2024 (first team)
Tyler Kim, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2024 (second team)
Payton Allen, women’s hockey (women’s at-large), 2023 (first team)
Tyler Shilson, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2023 (first team, Academic All-America of the Year)
Charlie Stuhl, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2023 (first team)
Tyler Shilson, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2022 (second team)
Daniil Gerasimov, men’s ice hockey (men’s at-large), 2021 (third team)
David Flynn, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2020 (first team)
Victor Gliva, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2020 (first team)
Brett Buckingham, men’s golf (men’s at-large), 2020 (second team)
Booker Coplin, men’s basketball, 2020 (first team)
Ashley St. Aubin, women’s soccer, 2019 (second team)
Booker Coplin, men’s basketball, 2019 (second team)
Christopher Lemke, football, 2018 (first team)
Ashley St. Aubin, women’s soccer, 2018 (second team)
Nate Flynn, men’s ice hockey (men’s at-large), 2018 (first team)
Victor Gliva, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2018 (first team)
Sam Bennyhoff, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2018 (second team)
Christopher Lemke, football, 2017 (first team)
Nate Flynn, men’s ice hockey (men’s at-large), 2017 (second team)
Mary Cornelius, women’s track and field/cross country, 2016 (third team)
Erika Allen, women’s ice hockey (women’s at-large), 2016 (second team)
Zach Swingen, football, 2015 (first team)
Chris DeVet, football, 2014 (first team)
Zach Swingen, football, 2014 (second team)
Lauren Rice, women’s track and field/cross country, 2014 (first team)
Elianna Bier, women’s swimming and diving (women’s at-large), 2014 (second team)
Chad Thompson, football, 2013 (second team)
Chris DeVet, football, 2013 (second team)
Bri Dorale, softball, 2013 (first team)
Chad Thompson, football, 2012 (first team)
Tony Valek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2012 (first team)
Tony Valek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2011 (first team)
Alex Hildebrandt, men’s soccer, 2009 (second team)
Alex Hildebrandt, men’s soccer, 2008 (third team)
Nick Manders, men’s soccer, 2007 (second team)
Andrew Neumann, football, 2006 (second team)
Ryan Valek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2006 (first team)
Riley Conway, men’s track and field/cross country, 2005 (second team)
Mark Matzek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2005 (first team)
Ryan Valek, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2005 (third team)
Darren Ginther, baseball, 2005 (first team)
Brent Peroutka, football, 2001 (second team)
Josh Cagle, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2000 (first team)
Brian Jones, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 2000 (second team)
Josh Cagle, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 1999 (second team)
Jim Peterson, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 1999 (second team)
Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1998 (second team)
Ted Schultz, football, 1997 (first team)
Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1997 (second team)
Dan Lewandowski, men’s wrestling (men’s at-large), 1997 (second team)
Andrea Haight, softball, 1991 (second team)
Karen Sterner, track and field (women’s at-large), 1987 (second team)
Karen Sterner, track and field (women’s at-large), 1986 (first team)
Paul Elliot, football, 1981 (only one team selected)