Kristin Lim '13 Highlights a Strong Preseason for CMS Tennis

Kristin Lim '13 won the singles’ title at the USTA-ITA Division III Small College National Championships, held in mid-October in Mobile, Alabama. Lim, a sophomore transfer from Division I Cornell, comfortably beat Samantha Frank of Gustavus Adolphus College in the championship match. After taking the first set 6-0, she was able to break Frank multiple times again to claim the second set and the tournament. But Lim’s semifinal victory was even more impressive than her finals win; Lim dropped the tournament’s number one seed, Lauren Chen of Carengie Mellon, losing only one game en route to a 6-1, 6-0 win. She lost a total of only four games in the entire national tournament, yet another amazing feat for the Athenas' first ever national tennis champion. Said Lim, "I was very fortunate for the opportunity to compete in the ITA National Championships and could not have been so successful without the strong support from my coaches and teammates." Lim nearly took the doubles title as well with her partner Crystal Lim (Fr.). The team of Lim and Lim reached the finals before they eventually lost to the University of Chicago’s Kendra Higgins and Chrissy Hu. Both Kristin (for doubles and singles) and Crystal earned All-American honors for their efforts. Kristin Lim believes her success and the success of the Athenas as a team will pay dividends when league play begins in February. "I learned a lot about myself as a competitor from this tournament," noted Kristin Lim, "especially what I need to work and improve on for spring season. I think the same goes for the rest of the team as well." The Athenas hope to improve on last season's 3rd place SCIAC finish.

Lim, from Honolulu, Hawaii, plans to major in Economics with a finance sequence. Off the court, Lim is very passionate about fashion and studied Fashion Marketing at Cornell. She recalls "intense studio classes" and "designing my own dress for the annual Cornell Fashion Show". If the fall is any indication, Lim will enjoy a very successful season in true CMS fashion.

The CMS men also fared very well in regional play. Sophomore Alex Johnson made it to the final before losing to Nick Ballou of California Lutheran University. Ballou ultimately placed third in the national tournament in Mobile. Robbie Erani (Jr.), Russell Brocket (Sr.), and Ron Wu (Sr.) all made it to the quarterfinals in singles, and the team of Erani and Wu reached the regional championship match. Said Wu, the team captain, “We did very well overall as a team. We had 8 guys in the round of 16 and four in the quarters, so depth will definitely be a strength for our team this year.”

The ITA Small College National Championships feature competitors from NCAA Divisions II and III, as well as junior college and NAIA. It is a different event than the NCAA College Tennis Championships, held in May (which CMS hosted last year).