By Tommy Keeler Jr. -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — There was no controversy this time, but still plenty of drama.

Millbrook's Walter Battin pulled out a close match in singles to help guide the Pioneers to a 5-4 Northwestern District boys tennis victory over James Wood on Thursday.

After the April 15 match between the Pioneers and Colonels elevated tensions between the two teams (a player was penalized a point, sparking a debate between coaches), Millbrook athletic director Chris Garber made it clear before the rematch: there were to be no incidents, only sportsmanlike play.

Battin made the most of his return to singles, after being out for three weeks due to a back injury. Battin pulled out an 11-10 (8) victory over James Wood's Matt Palmer at No. 4 singles to give the Pioneers a 4-2 lead.

"It felt pretty good to be back out there," Battin said. "It was my first match back. I knew it was an important one."

Battin trailed 10-9, but broke Palmer to force a tiebreaker. The two went back and forth throughout the breaker. Battin saved two match points and converted on his second match point after a Palmer double fault.

"I knew in my head that I had it," Battin said. "There was no way I was going to let him win. I wasn't going to let my team down."

The Pioneers clinched the match at No. 2 doubles with a 10-5 win by Ben Golden and Chris Northrup over James Wood's Ben Bishop and Ryan Carter.

Golden and Northrup took a commanding 5-1 lead, but James Wood battled back to within 5-4. Golden and Northrup could feel the momentum slipping away as Northrup served at 0-30, but they righted the ship by winning seven straight points.

"At the changeover, Ben and I just talked and said we just needed to do what we were doing to start the match," Northrup said. "We didn't want to give them any more confidence. We just focused. That was a key game in the match."

The Millbrook pair cruised from there, losing only one more game and sealing the team win for the Pioneers (9-3, 9-3 Northwestern). Golden and Northrup were also coming off their first doubles loss of the season, which came at the hands of Sherando.

"We really wanted to bounce back," Northrup said. "Ben played a great match. I played OK, I guess. I just started playing this year, so he has more experience then me. He helps me a lot."

The Colonels (7-5, 7-5) had wins in singles from Rusty Jenkins (No. 2) and Ben Bishop (No. 5). The win gives Millbrook the No. 3 seed in next week's district tournament and most likely drops James Wood to the No. 4 seed.

"It was a good match," James Wood coach Joey Dawson said. "I thought our guys played well. Millbrook played well."

Millbrook also had singles wins from Drexler (No. 1), Northrup (No. 3), and John Battin (No. 6). The Pioneers will play at No. 2 seed Sherando in the district semifinals on May 9. The Warriors beat the Pioneers twice this season, but both were very close matches.

With the team finally getting healthy, the Pioneers are confident about next week's tournament.

"I think we can win the tournament," Walter Battin said. "I have confidence in this team. I think everybody on this team is really good. I think we'll do really good in districts and hopefully in regionals."

*Contact Tommy Keeler Jr. at tkeeler@nvdaily.com

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