A two-year co-captain, Van Kirk joins Genny Mueller as the only two-time Academic All-District V honorees in program history after earning second-team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V honors last year and now becomes eligible for Academic All-America consideration.  She is the only player to start all 19 games this season and also leads the team in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.36).  In addition, Van Kirk ranks fourth on the team in scoring at 6.3 points per game and is third on the team in both rebounding (4.6 rpg) and assists (2.0 apg). 

Van Kirk owns a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average and is enrolled in Bradley's Individualized Major Program (pre-med).  She was a second-team Missouri Valley Conference scholar-athlete last season as a junior and has been awarded Bradley's Scholar-Athlete of the Week seven times in her career. In addition to earning a spot on the Division I-AAA Athletic Director's Scholar-Athlete team last year, she has twice been honored with Bradley's Carl Grose Service Award which is given annually to recognize a student-athlete who is committed to volunteerism on campus and in the local community.

Also a team co-captain this season, Frericks earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V honors for the first time in her career.  She is fifth on the team in scoring at 5.6 points per game, but is tossing in 6.8 points per game in Missouri Valley Conference play and has helped Bradley to a 5-1 record in her last six starts.  Frericks is Bradley's active career leader in three-point field goals and ranks 12th in The Valley in three-point field goal percentage (.347) and three-pointers per game (1.4) this season. 

Through the first 19 games of the season, Frericks has nearly matched her career assist total from her first three years combined and is second on the team in assists per game (2.4 apg).  A mathematics/secondary education major, Frericks boasts a 3.92 cumulative grade point average.

The senior captains have helped Bradley to 55 victories since the start of the 2006-07, marking the most wins in a four-year period since the 1991-92 senior class wrapped up a four-year run with a 57-53 record.  Van Kirk and Frericks have also helped the Braves to a 17-10 (.630) conference record over the last two seasons, including this year's 6-3 Valley mark.

Bradley has boasted six ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District selections over the last nine years.  In addition to Frericks award this year and Van Kirk's back-to-back selections, Sara Bailey earned the honor in 2002-03 and Mueller was selected in back-to-back years (2003-04 & 2004-05).

To be eligible for the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve, maintain a 3.30 cumulative grade point average and reached sophomore athletic and academic standings in order to be nominated for the award.

Bradley returns to action Friday when the Braves open a three-game Missouri Valley Conference road swing with a 7:05 p.m. game at Evansville.