It’s a good thing Kristin Lim says she doesn’t need a lot of sleep.

In the midst of competing for a second NCAA Division III tennis singles championship, the Claremont McKenna senior goes to school and her job, and she recently completed an internship. She is the community service representative for the Hawaii Club, and on Monday, celebrated finishing her senior thesis with a nice bottle of champagne in the middle of campus.

"It’s a tradition we have where every senior who finishes their thesis gets a bottle of champagne and you get to party by the fountain in the middle of campus," Lim said. "Everyone is just so happy that their thesis is over."

Tennis is just a small part of the 2009 Punahou alumna’s college experience, which is quickly coming to an end.

Even with all of that going on, the 2011 NCAA Division III singles national champion still had time to lead the Athenas’ women’s tennis team to a No. 2 ranking.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps completed an undefeated regular season earlier this month and is the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships it will host beginning Friday.

According to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association website, Lim has lost only six matches in three years since transferring from Cornell.

"I don’t know what’s kept me going," Lim said over the phone Tuesday. "I think it’s my teammates, my coaches and my family that have always supported me."

A four-time state champion in high school, Lim gave Division I tennis a try for one season at Cornell.

Unhappy with things off the tennis court, Lim transferred to the West Coast for her sophomore season and enrolled at Claremont, where her older brother, Michael, just finished his college career.

Lim is the third college tennis player in the family, following two older brothers. All three won state championships at Punahou.

"We’re very competitive with each other, but supportive at the same time," said Kristin Lim, who won three state titles in singles and another in doubles. "On the tennis court, we’re always trying to find a way to win. It’s just the nature of our family, but at the end of the day, we’re all obviously supportive of each other and try to make each other better."

As a sophomore in college, Lim became the first CMS women’s tennis player to win a national championship.

Lim did not lose a set in the tournament and finished 34-3 in singles that season. Her only loss to a Division III opponent came when she had to retire due to an injury.

Despite breezing through her first season in Division III, Lim didn’t have any interest in giving Division I tennis another shot.

"I didn’t really consider any other school. I loved Claremont, and while tennis is a huge part of my life, it didn’t dictate where I’m going to go to school for the rest of my college career," she said. "I was happy at Claremont. I found my major (economics/accounting), made friends and really enjoyed the kind of dynamic — the hybrid life if you will — of being able to play tennis and go to school at Claremont."

Competing for another singles title this year, Lim also has a chance to pull off the rare triple crown of tennis (singles, doubles, team).

She’s also 22-3 in doubles competition, and the Athenas are the favorites to win the conference title and qualify for the NCAA championships.

It’s the best team Lim has been on in three years.

"I definitely want to win as a team," Lim said. "To win singles, doubles and as a team, you’ve got to have goals right?"

She will graduate on May 18 and leave for nationals in Michigan a day later.

It will be a hectic end to a college career that she says couldn’t have gone any better.

"I don’t want to leave this place," she said. "It’s been the best three years of my life. There’s a culture and environment here that I gravitate towards because I love it so much and it’s why I want to stay as long as I can."