Leinster celebrated a memorable double at the U18 Interprovincial Matches at Skerries Golf Club, with both the Boys’ and Girls’ teams claiming victory after two closely fought days of competition.
The Leinster U18 Girls went into the final day level with Munster after both sides recorded a win and a tie on the opening day, setting up a decisive encounter with just half a point separating the teams at the finish.
Defending champions Leinster made a flying start in the foursomes as Sadhbh Kelly (Bray) and Elsa Chen (Grange) secured a 4&3 victory.
Eleven-year-old Mirah Mijumbi (Roganstown) followed with an impressive 4&2 win over Julia Falvey Ryan (Fota Island), before Sophie Park (Grange) added another point with a 4&3 victory over Mia Digby (Ballybunion).
Munster responded strongly in the remaining singles. Niamh O’Sullivan (Mallow) defeated Elsa Chen, while Jessica Sutton (Ballyneety) and Grace Dowdall (Forrest Little) produced one of the matches of the day, finishing all square after a superb contest.
That half point proved crucial as Leinster edged the contest to retain their crown.
“The girls were fabulous today, they were so good. It looked a bit tight coming around nine but then they just put the foot down and it was fairly convincing in the end. It was brilliant,” said Leinster Captain Aimee McLaughlin (Laytown & Bettystown).
Connacht and Ulster shared the spoils 2.5-2.5 in the other Girls’ match, a result which saw Connacht finish third overall.
Boys Complete Leinster Double
There was equally dramatic action in the Boys’ competition, where Leinster began the final day with a two-point advantage over Ulster and Connacht.
With the same scores recorded by both teams in their respective matches, the destination of the title remained undecided deep into the afternoon.
Finn Jolly (Dun Laoghaire) and William Walshe (Delgany) gave Leinster the perfect start with a 3&2 foursomes victory over Ruairi Sherwood (Kinsale) and Donnacha Halpin (Shannon).
Tadhg Murphy (Millicent) added another point in the singles, defeating Leinster’s Ian McDonnell (Monkstown) on the 28th hole after a marathon encounter.
Leinster needed just one more point to secure the title and Gavin Duffy (Edenderry) delivered it in dramatic fashion. Duffy went the distance with James O’Callaghan (Killarney), eventually sealing victory with a two-hole win on the last.
The result completed an impressive Interprovincial double for Leinster, with both their U18 Boys’ and Girls’ teams leaving Skerries as champions.
