Entering last week’s regional matches, Luke Brooks said Cheyenne Mountain’s tennis team was Alabama, the college football powerhouse and the gold standard in its sport.

But the Air Academy senior also said the Kadets were Georgia, a formidable foe capable of dethroning tennis’ Goliath.

The Kadets won the 4A region 6 crown and beat Cheyenne Mountain 4-3 in their head-to-head matchups ahead of the state tournament, which begins at 9 a.m. Thursday in Pueblo and Denver.

“We all were thinking this was a big chance for us to beat Cheyenne; it’s been a long time for us,” Brooks said. “We knew that, compared to us, they weren’t as good this year. We went in with the mindset that they had all the pressure on them. They’ve had a history of performing well and we knew they had something to prove and that we were coming into try our best to take it from them.”

Brooks, the Kadets’ No. 2 singles player, had a key role in the Kadets’ regional win as he earned a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win against Abram Twede.

The Kadets’ senior regional champion said he’s grateful for the victory, but didn’t want to modify what earned him and Air Academy the crown.

Brooks will face Peak to Peak’s Ben Swartz in his first match and will remain focused on his effort rather than beating his opponent.

“I just want to go out and compete, these are the best people in the state,” Brooks said. “I want to have good matches and play against tough opponents and perform as well as I can. I’m not a results-driven person. I go out there and work as hard as I can. I’m not focused on the outcome.”

Kadets coach Matthew Kiser also shared Brooks’ enthusiasm as players and coaches recognize the magnitude of the accomplishment.

“I told the kids at the beginning of the season that regionals is what we work for,” Kiser said. “Regionals gets you to state and we know what that means. This is my 12th year at Air Academy and in my first year here, we beat Cheyenne Mountain at regionals and we hadn’t beat them since. Every year you hope to compete with Cheyenne Mountain and most years you’re not so successful. To have a team do well … it was thrilling.”

Now, Kiser wants that momentum to carry over to the tournament. Air Academy and Cheyenne Mountain both have all seven positions in Pueblo.

Kiser said the Kadets enter the tournament with a “kill the giants” mentality and hope to spoil state for their opponents.

“We know we’re not a Kent Denver or Colorado Academy or one of the top schools,” Kiser said. “But we have a chance. We’ve competed well through the season and have played tough opponents. We’re ready and we’re motivating them to realize that they can do more.”

Coronado squeaks past Discovery Canyon for regional crown

Although No. 1 singles player Eli Bole did not qualify for the state tournament for Coronado, he played a role in the Cougars earning the 4A region 7 title.

“He put the team on his back and he didn’t even know it,” Coronado Coach Michael Lovato said. “He was in the playback finals and we were tied with Discovery Canyon until his match. … He got in that match and, Eli had a sprained ankle, but he sucked it up and got it done.”

Bole’s 2 points helped Coronado win the crown 54-52 over Discovery Canyon and the Cougars will send four positions to the tournament.

Lovato believes the grit the Cougars displayed during regionals can carry over to Pueblo despite the wealth of talent at the tournament.

“We’re like the Bad News Bears — we’re fighters and we’re scrappy,” Lovato said. “Doesn’t matter if we’re down 4-love in the second set and we already lost the first. We’re fighting.”

5A

Matches at Denver Tennis Park and Denver South HS for 3 and 4 doubles. Thursday and Friday contests start at 9 a.m.; Saturday’s first- and second-place matches begin at 10 a.m.

SINGLES

No. 1: Brady Swartz, Ralston Valley, vs. Braylon Desquitado, Pine Creek.

No. 2: Gurman Goraya, Pine Creek, vs. Nathan Spicer, Ponderosa.

DOUBLES

No. 2: Andrew Kasunick/Lincoln Leap, Pine Creek, vs. Athavr Peroor/Nathan McIsaac, Grandview.

4A

Tournament cut to two days due to weather concerns; Tournament at Pueblo City Park; Thursday’s matches start at 9 a.m.; Friday’s semifinals begin at 8:30 and finals will commence around 2 p.m.

SINGLES

No. 1: Nathan Gold, Kent Denver, vs. Brady Truong, Palmer Ridge; Andrew Ballenger, Cheyenne Mountain, vs. Tyler Thielemier, Pueblo Central; Thatcher Crisler, Lewis-Palmer, vs. Sebastian Moy, Niwot; Nithesh Karuppasamy, D’Evelyn, vs. Ky Walker, Air Academy.

No. 2: Wyat Fisher, Vail Christian, vs. Abram Twede, Cheyenne Mountain, Luke Brooks, Air Academy, vs. Ben Swartz, Peak to Peak.

No. 3: Elijah Wright, Grand Junction, vs. Caleb Davis, Discovery Canyon; Connick Goodwin, Palmer Ridge, vs. Caleb Stork, Thomas Jefferson; Josh Curtiss, Coronado, vs. Shreyas Sundaresan, Peak to Peak; Keegan Cornelius, Air Academy, vs. Teddy Brunner, Vail Christian; Xalen Mitchell, D’Evelyn, vs. Nick Page, Cheyenne Mountain.

DOUBLES

No. 1: Matt Frost/Ethan Frost, Discovery Canyon, vs. Damien Dobson Matthew MacEntee, Steamboat Springs; Oliver Haddad/Isaac Dyer, Air Academy, vs. Elias Adams/Dylan Reeb, D’Evelyn; Victor Struski/Wilson Mancini, Palmer Ridge, vs. Jack Welling/Jacob Smith, Grand Junction; Remy Matignon/Wyatt Smith, Cheyenne Mountain, vs. Noah Bogel/Liam O’Drobinak, Kent Denver.

No. 2: Tommy Tygart/Parker Lee, Air Academy, vs. Dani Lazaro-Cristobal/Grant Studness, Vail Christian; Jeffery Peng/Ryker Bonicelli, Cheyenne Mountain, vs. Gareth Keller/Grant Gear, Grand Junction; Andrew Hiles/Krue Leonard, Discovery Canyon, vs. Miles Kahn/Jackson Nathan, Thomas Jefferson; Jackson Turner/Craig Stapleton, Colorado Academy, vs. Leo Nemschoff/Matt Olezeski, Fountain Valley.

No. 3: Levi Perry/Pranav Bhatia, Discovery Canyon, vs. Blake Kirkham/Javier Hernandez, Vail Christian; Zachary Fassman/Kieran Murphy, Air Academy, vs. Matt Abrams/Aaron Whiteley, George Washington; Jonathan Barnsee/Grayson Toepfer, Cheyenne Mountain, vs. Jack Bruhin/Baxter Stewart, Evergreen; Elam Browen/Paola Pluma, Coronado, vs. Ambrose Stevens/Ryder O’keefe, Thomas Jefferson.

No. 4: Zac Tabor/Elijah Baty, Discovery Canyon, vs. Caleb Hendrickson/Paul Harley, Air Academy; Jonathan Shark/Daniel Park, Cheyenne Mountain, vs. Dakota Meyers/Felix Chavez, Coronado.