LYNCHBURG -- Monte Tiller left Faith Christian after the 2006-07 school year.

He never lost faith.

Tiller showed plenty of resolve and a huge serve Thursday as the Patrick Henry senior extended the Patriots' string of Western Valley District boys' tennis singles titles to eight with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 upset over George Gianakos of E.C. Glass in the championship match at Oakwood Country Club.

Following on the heels of former PH stars such as Matt McDowell, Tyler Early, Brock Newton, Chris Hincker and Bo Edwards, the 6-foot-3 Tiller overcame a sloppy first set to avenge two regular-season losses to Gianakos.

"I just stayed tough, stayed consistent, worked the point a little bit better, tried to work my way into net," Tiller said. "I just stayed tough and put a little more topspin on the ball."

Tiller took advantage of a double fault by Gianakos on game point to break the Glass junior for a 5-4 lead in the second set and opened a 3-0 lead in the third. Gianakos lost his serve to fall behind 5-3 on another double fault and the PH star closed out the match.

Both players will advance to the Northwest Region singles quarterfinals May 21, at Glass.

"At the beginning of that third set, I could tell he was a little worn out," Tiller said.

The singles final was originally scheduled for Saturday, but the tournament schedule was changed early Thursday because of impending inclement weather. The matches were moved from E.C. Glass High's outdoor courts to the indoor hardcourts at Oakwood.

"I prefer to play indoors anyway," Tiller said. "It suits my serve. I don't have to worry about sun and wind and stuff."

The only weather worry came after the match as players, coaches and fans dodged raindrops en route to the parking lot. A yellow Roanoke City Schools bus awaited Tiller, certainly a different site for a student in his first year in public schools.

Tiller, who will walk on at Liberty University next year, is enjoying high school tennis immensely.

"I figured I wanted to play on a team at least one year before I went to college and get used to that team atmosphere," he said.

Faith Christian did not offer tennis as a varsity sport. Nevertheless, Tiller said it was a difficult decision to leave Faith, which opened a brand new school building on Buck Mountain Road last fall.

"It is, but we've got a new school at PH. It was a good change," he said. "We tried to field a team a couple years, but I was probably the only one at school that played."

Tiller spent his time last spring playing in junior tournaments, while many of his peers were dominating the high school ranks. Why didn't he make the move sooner?

"I think, my parents," he said. "I'd been in a private school all my life. They just wanted me to stay there, but since I turned 18 they figured I could make that decision on my own."

Does Tiller think he made the right decision?

"Now I do," he said.

Gianakos expended some energy in a 6-4, 6-3 semifinal win over PH's Matt Fink, while Tiller handled Glass' Nelson James 6-1, 6-1.

George Washington's Betsey Ezell -- a transfer from Indiana -- won the girls' title without losing a game in two matches Thursday. Ezell stopped Halifax County's Shanna Luck 6-0, 6-0 in the championship match after beating Glass' Caroline Gough 6-0, 6-0. Luck earned her Northwest Region berth with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over PH's Finley Vinson.