Bull Dogs Take Rivalry, Olympians Net a Hard-Earned Point

On the tennis courts Tuesday night, Columbus North flexed its state-ranked strength in a 4-1 win over Columbus East, but the Olympians celebrated something special — their first individual match win over the Bull Dogs in years.

At the top of the ladder, freshman Alek Devidze delivered a crisp 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles, while Max Wei blanked his opponent 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2. Doubles duos Teddy Littrell/Vince Sasse and Harsil Gandhi/Jaishal Padmanabhan also rolled to dominant straight-set wins.

But the night’s drama unfolded at No. 3 singles, where East’s Landon Redelman battled through two long sets and a tense tiebreaker to outlast Niranjan Pillia 6-3, 7-6 (5). His marathon victory not only gave East its lone point of the night but also gave the Olympians (1-8) a confidence boost to build on.

North (2-0) showed why it’s considered a contender this season, while East proved they’re scrappy and growing. For the Olympians, the young guns like Redelman and Kai Bergmann are starting to make their mark, even against crosstown rivals with bigger bites.