KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Case Western Reserve University women's tennis junior Erika Lim (Fullerton, Calif./Fullerton) earned the highest finish in program history by advancing to the finals of the 2011 United States Tennis Association/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Regional Championship on Sunday, October 2. The main singles draw consisted of 64 student-athletes from around the region vying for a title in the three-day event at Kalamazoo College.
Lim, who advanced to the finals with a walkover win in the semifinals, squared off with No. 1 seed Kendra Higgins of the University of Chicago (Ill.). Higgins took the title in straight sets by 6-1, 6-4 scores.
Lim, the No. 6 seed in the draw, opened play with three straight-set victories versus Mary Catherine Faller (6-0, 6-0) of St. Mary's College (Ind.), Lilianna Broussalian (6-2, 6-1) of Denison University and Theresa Petraskova (6-0, 6-1) of Washington University-St. Louis (Mo.). In the quarterfinal round, Lim battled No. 2 seed Jennifer Kung of Chicago. Lim took the first set, 6-4, but Kung rebounded to win the second, 6-2. The two went back-and-forth in the final set before Lim advanced to the semifinals by a 6-4 score in the decisive set.
After losing her first-round singles match in the main draw, freshman Marianne Bonanno (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont) posted two straight-set victories in the first two rounds of the consolation finals. She fell in the consolation quarterfinals to Kate Westernberger by a 6-2, 7-6 (4) score for a 2-2 record.
Sophomore Kara Richardson (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) also competed in the singles main draw. She won her opening-round match against Elyse Schmitt of Allegheny College (Pa.) by a 6-2, 6-2 score before falling to Maggie MacPhail of DePauw University (Ind.) with scores of 6-2, 6-4.
In the collegiate singles draw, freshman Angie Korpusik (Campbell, Calif./Presentation), junior Kathleen Evers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and sophomore Bianca Patel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) each went 2-1.
In doubles action, Erika Lim and her freshman sister Alexandra Lim (Fullerton, Calif./Fullerton Union) were seeded No. 5 out of 32 tandems in the main draw and posted a 3-1 mark. The sisters won their opening-round match by an 8-4 score, the round of 16 matchup via an 8-3 count, and were victorious in the quarterfinal round, 8-4. In the semifinals, the duo ran into No. 1-seeded Higgins and Kung of Chicago. The Maroon tandem came out on top over the Lim sisters, 8-3.
Competing in the doubles main draw, the Spartan duo of Bonanno and Richardson won their first-round match over Stephanie Roff and Jordyn Hoover (8-3) before falling to the No. 4 seed tandem of Kelsey McGillis and Carmen Vacaquzman (8-5).
The Spartans return to dual match action versus the University of Mount Union on Friday, October 7, at 3:30 p.m. in Alliance. Case also opens the home portion of its schedule versus The College of Wooster on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 12:30 p.m. as part of Spartan Tennis Alumni and Parents Day/Affinity Weekend.
