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Pueblo — Cheyenne Mountain's Brad Young gave Steamboat Springs junior Ramsey Bernard exactly what he expected in the finals of the state high school tennis championships Saturday at Pueblo City Park.

"It was a tight match that could have gone either way," Bernard said. "It's what I expected going in, and it's what I got."

What Bernard couldn't have predicted was how much attention the match would get from the large crowd that came out to watch the finals. Not only were Young and Bernard competing for the No. 2 singles title, but the match also would determine the winner of the overall team title. Cheyenne Mountain needed to win the match to extend its lead against Kent Denver.

After the final point of the 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 match, it was Bernard who stared at the ground in disappointment and Young who celebrated winning the No. 2 singles title with the half dozen teammates who ran onto the court to congratulate him.

"It was a good match," Bernard said. "He was playing really aggressive."

Bernard finished the first set strong, winning, 7-5. But after Young took an early lead in the second set, Bernard lost his aggressiveness, and the Cheyenne Mountain player stepped up his game.

"I got broken in the first game, and that's what decided the match," Bernard said. "He played really well, and it just didn't go my way today. If we played tomorrow, it could go my way. "

Young's victory secured Cheyenne Mountain's team title with 64 points. Kent Denver topped Cheyenne Mountain in the No. 1 doubles match, but it was not enough to catch the Indians. Kent finished with 63 points, and Broomfield was third with 34 points.

Steamboat got its only points Saturday from the squad's No. 1 doubles team of Brian Aragon and Brian Burger. The duo defeated Greeley West to take third place in the state, and their win gave Steamboat just enough points to hold off Mullen for fourth place in the team standings. Steamboat finished with 25 points, and Mullen took fifth with 24 points.

"This was the first time I played on Saturday, so it was a great way to go out," said Aragon, a senior.

After a tough match against Mullen to earn the right to play for third place, Aragon and Burger said Saturday's match was less taxing.

"It wasn't as challenging. We just knew that if we played our game it should be pretty easy," Burger said. "We just needed to get the ball in and close out our points where we got the chance. I'm pretty happy, but we had to face Cheyenne (Mountain) right off the bat, which was pretty tough. I think if we would have been on the other side we would have had a shot at the finals."

Steamboat's No. 2 team of Jesse Schaller and Dylan Roberts also played Saturday, falling to Mullen, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Schaller and Roberts finished fourth overall. It was the third year in a row the team has medaled at the state tournament.

"It was a really good match with really good tennis the whole time," Roberts said. "Despite losing, it was a good match to go out on."

Roberts said they made too many mistakes in the third set, and they let a few close calls take them out of their game. On the other side of the net, Mullen was steady and came up with the plays when they needed them.

"We did a lot of things right. We were serving backhand and taking the middle on their returns and putting some balls away," Schaller said. "There were just a couple little things that we could have done better and the match could have turned around for us."

"I thought that we could win all three," coach John Aragon said about the team's Saturday matches. "It didn't happen for us, but we were in each of those matches. I was real pleased with our No. 1 doubles. They came out and were all business. They played like they were capable of, and ended the tournament on a real positive note."