Exceeding Expectations: Rebuilt Bull Dogs headed back to state again

After making seven consecutive trips to the state tournament, that streak was in jeopardy for Columbus North when this boys tennis season began.

The Bull Dogs lost state singles champion Hank Lin and a few other key seniors to graduation, leaving them inexperienced going into 2025. Only two full-time varsity players returned.

But now, North is headed back to state. The 23rd-ranked Bull Dogs edged Cathedral 3-2 Saturday to win their eighth consecutive semistate title.

“I’m really happy for these guys getting to this point and keeping the row going of consistency of us getting to the state,” North coach Kendal Hammel said. “They did the job. This is the one we weren’t sure of, so I’m really happy for the team.”

North has a freshman and sophomore playing No. 1 and No. 2 singles in Alek Devidze and Max Wei. Senior Jace Branham stepped in at No. 3 singles.

Teddy Littrell, who played No. 3 singles last year, teams with fellow senior Vince Sasse at No. 1 doubles. Senior Jaishil Padmanabhan and Luka Devidze are at No. 2 doubles.

“We’ve been saying all along, team-wise, we may not have the big hitters like we’ve had in the past, but you have to win three out of five spots, and wherever it comes from, everyone has to step up and do the job on that particular day,” Hammel said. “I’m very proud of this team. I told them earlier, in past years, we’ve had big hitters, and always going in, it was 1-0 or 2-0, and I didn’t have to worry a lot about it.

“This one sort of got to me as a coach,” he added. “We’ve fought hard, not being a fantastic year record-wise. We just keep coming back, keep going one match at a time, and I’m very proud of what these guys did. I’m glad for the seniors.”

Wei, Branham, Padmanabhan and both Devidzes are playing full-time varsity for the first time this season.

“This is a whole new experience for them, so this is exciting for them to do that,” Hammel said.

The Bull Dogs (15-6) will face No. 2 Homestead at 10 a.m. Friday in the state quarterfinals at North Central. The semifinals and final are Saturday, also at North Central.

“We’re going to go in as underdogs with nothing to lose, just go out loose and play,” Hammel said. “We’re there, we get to compete in that situation and see what happens.”

No matter how North fares this weekend, the Bull Dogs already have exceeded expectations.

“I feel like since we did lose a lot of players, we kind of weren’t expected to go this far,” Luka Devidze said. “But, here we are.”