There were no real congratulatory handshakes Thursday afternoon for Nash Central’s girls’ tennis team.

There was no cheering crowd either at Northern Nash High School. But there was cake – even IF it was just to celebrate senior Meredith Davis’ father’s birthday.

Still, the Bulldogs had reason to celebrate after defeating Northern Nash, 9-0. They clinched at least a share of the Big East Conference title, something Nash Central has done three straight years.

“That’s going to be a tough act to follow,” coach Susan McCarthy said. “...The legacy they are leaving behind is one that no one else at Nash Central tennis has ever done. Whether it can be done again, I don’t know.”

Nash Central (12-0 overall, 8-0 Big East) cruised to an easy victory Thursday and now sits two games ahead of second-place Rocky Mount High.

The Bulldogs need to win just one of their final two games – against Wilson Hunt or Southern Nash – or have the Gryphons lose once to claim an outright title.

Rocky Mount High plays Southern Nash and Northern Nash next week.

The five seniors and one junior who make up the top six at Nash Central, which plays Eastern Wayne tonight in what No. 1 Randi Price called the team’s toughest match, have made a name for themselves.

“It means a lot because it (has) never been done by our school before,” Price said. “Everybody will know who we are and people will always remember us as winning conference for our school.”

They’ve done it with consistency, but not the common kind. Consistency to the Bulldogs is routinely near perfection. Nash Central has lost just two individual matches all conference season – one in singles and one in doubles – and lost only eight games Thursday against Northern Nash (3-9, 2-6)

“They’re just a great team,” Northern Nash coach Henry Drake said. “They have great players. They’re well-coached. They do all the little things to win points and win matches. That’s what great teams do.”