DENVER – Cheyenne Mountain received the reprieve necessary to keep its chance at a third consecutive state title alive.

But Kent Denver nipped that in the bud in a decisive third set.

The Red-Tailed Hawks lost the 4A state tennis team tournament 4-3 after the Sun Devils earned a third-set victory at No. 1 doubles to clinch the team title Tuesday at Denver Tennis Park.

“It’s a tough loss, but we didn’t tighten up and hand the match to them on a silver platter,” Cheyenne Mountain coach David Adams said. “We competed well and came close. That’s all you can ask for.”

Cheyenne Mountain’s No. 1 doubles Saffron Heroldt and Jocelyn Kelly previously beat Kent Denver’s Kendall Adams and Samantha Brenner 6-4, 6-3 on May 11 at the individual state tournament in Pueblo.

Heroldt and Kelly took the first set from the Sun Devils’ No.1 doubles duo, but Adams and Brenner built a 5-2 second set lead and eventually won 6-4.

“In between sets, we had a chat outside and went over our goals,” Heroldt said. “We want to play our best and try our best and, no matter the result, we’ll keep trying and focusing on teamwork. We were making a lot of mistakes in the second set, so we wanted to flip that to get the momentum back.”

At first, that didn’t work.

Heroldt and Kelly fell into a 3-0 hole in the third set as Adams and Brenner snatched the momentum.

However, as Heroldt and Kelly took a 40-0 game lead for the fourth point, Brenner double faulted on a serve, giving the Red-Tailed Hawks’ duo their first point.

Then, Cheyenne Mountain took the next three points.

“Sometimes you just have to forget the score,” Kelly said. “You have to go one point at a time, one game at a time, one set at a time and focus on the moment.”

Heroldt shared similar sentiments.

“If you’re thinking about the score then you’ve already lost,” Heroldt said. “You have to be present and that’s what we did.”

The Sun Devils scored the final three set points of the match including a sweep in the final game for the victory.

“There were times when momentum switched and they could’ve folded but they didn’t. They continued to fight the entire way,” Adams said. “They were down 2-5 in the second set and came within a whisker of tying it up 5-all. … Third sets are always difficult, especially when there’s an announcement that the whole match rides on a win. That’s a lot of pressure and I was proud of how we fought.”

Heroldt and Kelly had a chance to win the tournament after Meg Devanny and Lauren Sharp’s win at No. 4 doubles tied the match at 3-3.

During the individual state tournament on May 11, Kent Denver’s Sasha Berry and Margaux Lively defeated Devanny and Sharp 6-2, 6-2 to earn the state title.

“They got beaten soundly on Saturday and a few days later they flipped the switch,” Adams said. “That takes a lot of gumption on their part. This is their first year on varsity and they’re both inexperienced, but they competed well and dug in. That was a major upset.”

The Red-Tailed Hawks narrowly missed out on their 26th overall girls tennis team title, but Adams didn’t fret over the second-place finish.

The Cheyenne Mountain coach spoke about his players’ “astounding” play and their resilience in the team tournament.

“I’m extremely proud of our team,” Adams said. “We clawed to stay in this one. Everyone performed well and I’m proud of what everyone accomplished here.”