Final results

Indianapolis, IN … The extensive swimming family at The College of New Jersey can argue its specific rank in program history, but one thing is certain. The 2013-14 Lions' team is one of the greatest of all-time.

For the second time this week, TCNJ won a national championship in a relay event, topping the national field in the 400-freestyle relay in the final event of the championships. The team of senior Stephen Tarnowski (Ramstein Germany/Ramstein American), junior Brett Pedersen (Sewell, NJ/St. Augstine Prep), sophomore Joseph Dunn (Fanwood, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood), and senior Stephen Gibson (Sewell, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) swam the race of a lifetime as they captured the national title with a program record time of 2:58.07. They bested the runner-up finisher, Denison University, by more than six-tenths of a second.

Following four days of magical performances and memorable achievements, TCNJ placed 6^th at the 2014 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving National Championships held at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, IN. It matched the highest finish in the history of the program as this Lions' squad now stands alongside the 2009-10 team that also placed sixth at the 2010 NCAA championships.
 On Saturday night, the 400-free relay won the title, Tarnowski placed third in the 100-free, and James Shangle (Highland Park, NJ/Highland Park) finished ninth overall in the 200-breaststroke. Following the conclusion of the meet, head coach Brian Bishop was named Coach of the Year for the NCAA Division III Swimming National Championships.

Tarnowski performed to his great potential at the championships, earning five All-American honors. He placed third in the 200-free, eighth in the 500-free, and third in the 100-free. Tarnowski also raced in the third-place 800-free relay and the national title-winning 400-free relay.

His preliminary time of 44.66 on Saturday morning set a new program record that was previously held by his teammate Brett Pedersen. He then topped his own mark in the championship final with 44.49.

Shangle won the consolation final in the 200-breaststroke. He topped the field with a time of 2:01.14, cutting nearly a full second off of his time in the preliminaries. Shangle placed ninth nationally, earning nine points and another All-American Honorable Mention citation.

On Saturday morning, junior Aleksander Burzynski (Colonia, NJ/St. Joseph's) and freshman Jin Roh (Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly) raced in the 200-backstroke event. They finished 26^th and 27^th nationally, recording times of 1:50.66 and 1:50.93.

In the 100-free, Dunn placed 22^nd with a time of 45.39. Pedersen completed the four laps in 45.58 and took 25^th, while Philip Hawley (Eastampton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) was 42^nd nationally with a time of 46.00.

In the preliminary race in the 400-free relay, the foursome posted the top time out of 22 relay teams. They broke their own school record (set earlier this season) with a finish of 2:58.60. That would be broken again in their historic finish.

Kenyon University won the team national title, edging Denison University by eight points. Emory placed third, followed by Johns Hopkins University and MIT.

The achievements on Saturday punctuated an incredible four days for the Lions and coach Bishop. They garnered 25 All-American citations, 19 of which were First Team honors (top 8). The highlight, of course, was the two national titles in the 200-freestyle and 400-freestyle relays.

The 2013-14 season is the 25^th for Bishop as head coach. He has led the Lions to the NCAA championships every year since 1993. It is the fourth time they have finished in the top 10 and 15^th time in the top 15.