[Report by U18 Team Manager Andrew Kevern]

Cornwall U18 faced Somerset in match two on Wednesday morning following a halved match the previous day against Devon.

With captain, Ethan Tempest (WCGC), waking up feeling unwell, Jack Kevern stepped up to face +2 handicap, Freddie Turnell. In a match that swayed back and forth, Jack managed a closing birdie to claim a half. In match two, Connor Vanstone (Bude), returned to form with an impressive 3 & 2 victory over Somerset's Stanley Richardson. In match 3, Jonty Jenkin (WCGC), narrowly lost 2 down after his opponent finished with 2 birdies in the closing three holes. In matches 4 and 5, William Hardwick (Perranporth) lost 7 & 5, while Archie Fox (Falmouth) lost 9 & 7. In match six, 13-year-old, Thomas Miller (Newquay), narrowly lost 1 down despite chipping in on 18. Finally, in the foursomes match, Ethan partnered Harry Drewett (Falmouth) to earn a well-deserved half. Overall, the match went Somerset's way by a score of 10 - 4.

After a brief interlude, Cornwall returned to the course to take on Dorset after lunch. First out, Jack Kevern found himself up against Welsh international, Tom Bastow, who took control of the match on the 13th with a chip-in birdie and quickly followed this up with two more in quick succession to record a 4 & 2 win. With Connor Vanstone also losing 3 & 2, Cornwall were looking in trouble. However, in match three, Jonty Jenkin pulled off a well-deserved 1 up victory over +2 handicap, Jake Moore, after a strong finish. Immediately behind him, William Hardwick walked onto the 18th tee all square. After ripping his drive down the middle of the fairway, his +1 opponent, Zac Mudford, found the trees. From here, all he could manage was a bogey six. William, on the other hand, played the hole in regulation to also earn a 1 up victory. In match five, Harry Drewett turned around a two-hole deficit to record a fine 2 & 1 victory. With Archie Fox losing 6 & 5, it all came down to the foursomes match. Unfortunately, despite being 2up at one point, Ethan Tempest and Thomas Miller succumbed to a 4 & 3 defeat thus leaving the final score 8 - 6 to Dorset.

Overall, some great individual performances from the Cornwall boys, but some hard lessons to be learnt. At the end of the day, Dorset and Somerset had much greater strength in depth and this told in the end.

Next up for the U18s is a trip to face Devon in their opening Greenaway League fixture next week at Woodbury Park.