In the morning, Otago beat the local Waikato team 5 to 3 in a close contest but went down to Auckland in the afternoon by winning three games and halving one of the eight match-ups.
Otago held the lead over Waikato on the front nine but ensured the win with a gritty performance coming home.
Inia Logan at No1 came up against Charlie Smail, who is one junior with a great golfing pedigree.
Smail is the son of well-performed touring professional David Smail and his mother was Sheree Higgins, who was the first New Zealand woman to win a professional tournament.
But Logan was equal to the task at four up after 11 holes, eventually winning 3 and 2.
Jack Turner at No7 also won 3 and 2, while Harry Smith (No3), Jakob Bleach (No4) and Conor Ross (No5) notched crucial last-hole wins.
In the afternoon, Sungwoo Han, smarting from his morning loss, went on a birdie run and eventually beat Auckland No2 Andrew Meng with three holes to spare.
Logan continued on his winning way, giving Auckland No1 Mason Lee a golf lesson, and was four under par when the match finished on the 14th green.
Ross also posted a good win with three holes to spare, while the remaining five golfers trailed by one at the turn.
Only Joseph Hancock at No8 made any progress on the final nine, finishing with a half with Auckland No8 Karan Nalam.
The remaining four failed to finish strongly, giving Auckland sweet revenge for the 7 to 1 drubbing last year's Otago octet gave them, costing Auckland a place in the final.
