Senior swim captains were ultimate winners

Kuehne, Rauch, Webb, Gendimenico fueled dynasty

By: Rudy Brandl
   There aren’t many high school athletes in any sport who can proudly claim they won something significant every year.
   Four male swimmers who will graduate from Hillsborough High in a few months recently completed a perfect four-year run as Central Public A sectional champions. Pat Kuehne, Tim Rauch, Robert Webb and Bobby Gendimenico served as captains this year and they did more than lead by example – they showed the rest of the team how to win the big one.
   The boys entered HHS as freshmen looking to make an impact on a rising program. They emerged as leaders and became the key ingredients in head coach Todd Sudol’s winning formula.
   "I’m very, very thankful and proud of my four senior captains," Sudol said. "They are the true leaders."
   All these boys did was win championships. They got their first taste of winning a title as freshmen, but that was just the beginning.
   "Freshman year was an amazing feeling," Gendimenico recalled. "I said then that I wished we could do it every year and we did it. It’s an amazing feeling."
   As sophomores, they had a truly special season, one of the greatest in school history in any sport. The Raiders ended Bridgewater-Raritan’s nine-year reign in the Somerset County and Skyland Conference championship meets with stunning victories. They rolled to their second straight sectional crown and wiped out B-R to win the State Public A championship.
   The HHS boys duplicated their dominant run to the sectional title in the next two years but their quest for a state championship was derailed by Cherry Hill West in the semifinals both times. Despite the disappointment of those narrow defeats, the fabulous four from the Class of 2007 remained perfect in sectional championship events.
   Sudol put a lot of faith in his four seniors. He counted on them to continue the team’s winning tradition.
   The HHS seniors knew what was at stake. They rallied the younger swimmers and gave them confidence. They understood the value of the school’s winning tradition and embraced the challenge of maintaining the streak.
   "It starts as soon as you join the team," Rauch said. "As seniors, we learned how to pass on the motivation. Every time we jump into the pool, we put our hearts into it."
   They swam like they owned the pool at North Brunswick High. The most recent sectional triumph over Montgomery may have been the sweetest of the four. Montgomery had defeated the Raiders in a dual meet but the rematch wasn’t even close. Hillsborough took the lead from the very first event and spent the rest of the afternoon building it en route to a surprisingly lopsided 103-68 championship victory.
   "It’s just amazing," Kuehne said. "I never thought as a freshman that we’d win every time during my high school career."
   "We’ve been here since the beginning," Webb added. "I’m proud of everyone on this team. To win the title four years in a row is just awesome."