Bonney sets unbeatable mark
Published 6:46 pm Saturday, May 21, 2016
On Thursday, Nansemond River High School’s Erin Bonney achieved a remarkable feat for any high school sport, but one that’s almost unheard of in tennis.
![Nansemond River High School junior Erin Bonney has amassed an incredible 72-0 record for the girls’ tennis team this year, propelling her team to the conference tournament next week.](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2016/05/useIMG_0762.jpg)
Nansemond River High School junior Erin Bonney has amassed an incredible 72-0 record for the girls’ tennis team this year, propelling her team to the conference tournament next week.
With a 6-0 finish against Kecoughtan High School, Bonney winds up the regular season for the Lady Warriors with an incredible 72-0 record.
Bonney is a junior with a competitive nature that pushes her to achieve greatness on the court. Shamus Riley has been coaching her since she was a freshman and sees Bonney as being a unique player.
“She’s a hard worker,” he said Saturday. “She came out in the eighth grade to practice with the team, but she couldn’t play until she was a freshman. She has gradually gotten better, and she’s so consistent on the court. She’s like a wall — she returns everything.”
Bonney is the top-seeded singles player going into the conference tournament, which starts on Monday. She won the Ironclad conference championship last year and hopes to make it two championships in a row, though this year would be in a different conference because of NRHS’ change of classification.
“She’s trying to win two conference championships, and that’s while going from conferences 4A to 5A,” Riley said.
Behind her racquet, Nansemond River finished 14-1 in the regular season and undefeated in conference play.
The Lady Warriors lost at the regional level the last two years. Since then, Bonney said, the team has been on a mission to succeed.
“Erin said, ‘I’ve been to regionals two years in a row — the team has been there two years in a row — and it would be a disappointment for us to not at least get to the regional level again or to surpass that and make it to state for the first time in school history,’” Riley said.
Riley said he stresses that Bonney and the rest of his players must focus on one match at a time.
“Every match is a new season,” he said. “In order for us to get to our ultimate goal, which is state, we have to win out, and that’s what our goal has been all season.”
At 72-0, Bonney is doing her part.