The men opened their campaign at the Manawatū Golf Club with a 2½-2½ deadlock with Manawatū-Whanganui before setting the tournament alight with a 3-2 win over two-time defending champions Auckland.
At Ashburton, the women posted a tidy 3-2 win over Hawke’s Bay in the morning, followed by a 3-2 loss to Wellington in the afternoon.
Loquacious left-hander Ben Patston provided the star turn for the Otago men on the opening day.
He started with a crushing 5 & 4 win over Ryan Rooney at No 4 in the order.
Troy Scott claimed another point for Otago, pipping Anthony Ilton-Maher 2&1, but Duncan Croudis and 14-year-old Raphael Anderson, on debut, both suffered 4&2 defeats to their Manawatū-Whanganui opponents.
That left the battle of the No1s to decide the clash.
William Dunsmore held a 2-up advantage for the home side heading to the 17th, but Otago No 1 Ricky Kang won the final two holes to halve both his match and the overall tie.
In the afternoon, Otago showed few signs of nerves as they faced an Auckland side shooting for a hat-trick of national titles.
"We just fought really hard against a top outfit," Patston said.
"It just shows the ticker in this team that we could grind out a good victory against those boys to hopefully set us up for the rest of the week, and hopefully we can keep the hammer down.
"Everyone’s feeling good and the momentum is with us."
Patston completed his excellent opening day with a 2-up win over Glenn Solomann, and Kang pulled off a fine 1-up win over US college-bound Auckland star Ryan Xie.
Croudis (1-down) and Scott (2 & 1) both fought to the wire before posting losses, leaving the tie hanging on the battle at No 5.
Anderson had to be considered the underdog as he met Steven van Heerden, a New Zealand Amateur matchplay finalist just two years ago, but the Central Otago youngster played above his years to clinch a 1-up win.
"It’s so impressive to see Raph in action," Patston said.
"He played real solid this morning, but the guy he played just holed everything to go round in 6-under, which was an eye-opener for a 14-year-old.
"Against Auckland, he was 3-down with maybe six to play and he just grinded away, put some really good swings on it, and ended up getting the victory on the last.
"We’re so proud of him."
Patston was reasonably happy with his own form.
"I was solid. I hit the ball pretty straight and made a few putts in the morning, got myself ahead and ended up putting the guy under pressure.
"In the afternoon, I was a wee bit tired. It’s a long day, and it was 24-25degC.
"It was a bit of a rollercoaster round but I managed to sniff in front coming down the stretch and got it done on the last."
Yoonae Jeong, as she so often does, led the Otago women in style from the No 1 spot at Ashburton.
Jeong had a 6 & 5 win in the morning victory over Hawke’s Bay, and followed up with a 7 & 5 thumping of the Wellington No 1.
Fellow Otago teenager Sophia Park also made a cracking start to the tournament with two wins, while both Savannah Neal and Anahera Koni grabbed halves in their morning matches.
The Otago men play Northland and Tairawhiti today, while the women have the bye before meeting Auckland.
