CASTLE ROCK -- Luke Symons and Derek Tolan played golf at the same high school, they're teammates at the same university, they live in the same house in south Boulder, and they even played a practice round together at the site of this week's Colorado Golf Association Match Play championship.

But when it came to squaring off in Friday's 36-hole final match of the state amateur at Plum Creek Golf Club, there was little indication of all that. Friendship wasn't the immediate priority. There was the CGA's oldest championship at stake, and only one of them could get their name on the trophy.

"There was a lot of joking around (Thursday) night, but once the match started, we had our game faces on," Tolan said afterward. "There was nothing given, nothing taken."

When all was said and done, Symons had rallied to defeat his older University of Colorado teammate 2 and 1, denying Tolan the distinction of being the first player to win the State Publinks and the State Match Play in the same year.

"This is a relief," said the 20-year-old Symons, noting this was the biggest victory of his career. "It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I've put myself in position (to win), but a lot of times I haven't capitalized. Hopefully I can build from this."

Friday marked the sixth time two active CU golfers have battled it out in the State Match Play final. A not-so-trivial side note is that two winners of such matches -- Hale Irwin (1966) and Steve Jones (1980) -- went go on to win the U.S. Open.

Tolan is the only person to play in two of the head-to-head CU matchups in the title match, as he also lost a close finale in 2005, to Pat Grady. In all, this was Tolan's 10th silver medal in CGA events, with his lone CGA individual victory coming last month in the State Publinks.

"I've got my one," he said with a smile.

For a long time on Friday, it looked like Tolan would be adding to that total. He held a 3-up lead after 17 holes -- despite Symons making six straight birdies for the second consecutive round -- and was 2 up through 24 holes. Symons evened the match two holes later after a birdie on No. 7, followed by a 3-foot eagle on the par-5 eighth. Symons didn't gain his first lead of the day until the 13th hole of the afternoon round, when Tolan failed to get up and down for a par.

After Tolan made a two-putt birdie on No. 15, Symons kept his lead with a 15-foot birdie of his own. On the next hole, the par-4 16th, with both players sticking their approach shots 5 feet from the pin, Symons drained his putt after Tolan missed, giving the younger player a 2-up margin. And Symons ended the match on No. 17 with a two-putt par after Tolan had lipped out his 15-foot birdie attempt.

Symons finished 9 under par for 35 holes, while Tolan was 7 under.

Although it was all business during the match, Symons could sit back later and note how unique it was to have two ThunderRidge High School alums, who now live in the same house as CU teammates, play one another in the state amateur final.

"It is pretty funny," said Symons, a junior-to-be at CU who plays out of Aurora's Valley Country Club. "We came out here to play a practice round together on Sunday. Who would have thought we would both make the finals?"

For his part, Tolan has always been impressed by Symons' game, to the point that he feels his teammate has been underrated. Symons' only previous CGA individual victory was the 2007 Western Chapter championship.

"I've always said I don't think he gets enough credit for how good he is," Tolan said. "He shows great patience. That's why I knew even when I was up that he wasn't going to lay down. He deserved (to win) something big. It was just a matter of time."