Leinster completed the double at the Interprovincial Championships in Moyvalley on Thursday afternoon.
Five wins out of six singles matches saw Leinster power past Ulster and win the Women’s Interprovincial Championship while Leinster trounced Munster to beat reigning champions Connacht to the Men’s title on points difference.
It was the Leinster women who were the first to glory against reigning champions Ulster in the afternoon.
With the sides level at 1.5 points apiece after the morning foursomes, Leinster romped to a 6.5-2.5 victory thanks to a dominant singles session where they outscored their opponents five points to one.
After both sides picked up wins over Munster and Connacht in their opening two matches, it teed up a title decider on the final day with Ulster bidding for back-to-back Interpro titles.
Kate Lanigan/Emma Fleming halved the first match of the tie with Katie Poots and Jessica Ross before Kate Dywer/Amy O’Donnell put Ulster a point in front.
Emily Murray and Anna Abom levelled affairs heading into the afternoon singles.
Kate Lanigan of the Hermitage ended the week with a 100% record thanks to a 3&2 win over Malone’s Louise Coffey in the top singles match before Edmonstown’s Anna Abom eased to a 3&1 win against Portrush’s O’Donnell.
Jenny Maguire of Foxrock and Milltown’s Ellen O’Gorman edged to 2&1 wins after Clandeboye’s Ross claimed Ulster’s only singles win of the afternoon with a 4&2 thumping of Rachel McDonnell of Elm Park.
An up and down on 17 from Maguire secured the competition for Leinster.
With the Interprovincial title secure, Elm Park’s Fleming put the icing on the cake with a convincing 5&4 win over Dwyer.
“Delighted, bit of a nerve wracking end but delighgted we pulled through,” said Lanigan. “Some great finishing matches, the girls really held their own. Jenny had a clutch up and down to seal the deal so yeah we are delighted.
“It’s definitely more like together and it’s a bigger win if the team wins rather than just yourself,” said Fleming who partnered Lanigan in the foursomes.
“It’s nice but it’s about the team, it’s great to finish as top points scorers but it’s really about the team. I can’t thank the captains enough, their attitude and preparation on the course and off the course they have created a great environment for us off the course and that has made it easier for us to play and made it an enjoyable week for everyone.
Meanwhile Munster earned their first win of the competition to take third place with a 6-3 win over Connacht who came away empty handed.
Later, the Leinster men’s team romped to an 8.5-2.5 victory over Munster to leave themselves level on two points with Connacht after they hammered overnight leaders Ulster 8-3 including Galway’s Liam Nolan stretching his unbeaten record to 12 matches at the Interpros.
However, Leinster came out on top in the table by virtue of their superior points difference, pipping the West by two scores.
It was a similar story for the men as their female counterparts, winning six of the seven singles matches after taking a 2.5-1.5 point lead after the foursomes.
The tide turned the way of the East at the base of the match with Robert Brazill, Charlie Denvir, Eoin Murphy, Paul Coughlan and Keith Egan registering five wins in a row that ultimately told the difference.
“It’s great to get the win,” said Keith Egan of Carton House who secured the winning point. ‘It’s nice for me personally as I lost my last match last year for Connacht to win, so it kind of means Leinster are back. I’m proud of the team, we had great fun all week and I enjoyed every bit of it.
“Between all of us we just said to each other to worry about your own match,’ continued Egan. ‘I just wanted to win my point and then hopefully the lads did their job. It was fairly simple, you just worry about everything after you’re done. I was good at staying patient today and we’re happy with the result.”
Women’s Interprovincial Matches
Men’s Interprovincial Matches
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