Tenenbaum Hired as Louisville Rowing Assistant Coach
July 03, 2014 | Rowing
July 3, 2014
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville rowing head coach Derek Copeland announced on Thursday the hiring of former Clemson head coach Robbie Tenenbaum as an assistant with the Cardinals.
Tenenbaum joins Louisville following five seasons with the Clemson rowing team, including the last four as the head coach. In his time leading the Tigers, they had four All-Americans, five First Team All-South Region rowers and eleven rowers named All-ACC. Clemson also had at least six rowers named to the Academic All-ACC team in each of his four seasons as the Tigers head coach.
"I am thrilled to become a part of the University of Louisville rowing staff at this exciting time as we join the ACC," said Tenenbaum. "I have been familiar with the Louisville program and have watched it make a major rise in the rankings. I am looking forward to being a part of this championship team. Everyone here has been so warm and welcoming and I am truly fortunate to be a part of a program that excels in academics, community outreach and athletics."
During his tenure as head coach at Clemson, Tenenbaum guided the Tigers' first varsity eight boat to the ACC Crew-of-the-Year honor in 2011 while the first varsity four won an ACC title in 2012. Clemson also earned a top 15 finish at the NCAA Championship in his first season as head coach in 2011 and earned top 20 rankings nationally in 2012 and 2013.
"Robbie may be one of the best international recruiters in all of collegiate athletics. We expect that this will allow us more options when it comes to this area of our recruiting model," said Copeland, who led the Cardinals to their first NCAA Championship appearance in his second season at the helm in 2014. "Along with recruiting and coaching, Robbie's skill set also includes organizing events. We would love to begin work on hosting home regattas at a nearby venue. I am certain that the addition of Robbie will bring us speed and continued success as we move in to the ACC."
Before arriving at Clemson in 2009, Tenenbaum spent two seasons in Coral Gables, Fla., as the head women's rowing coach at the University of Miami. Prior to his stint at Miami, he was an assistant coach at the University of Washington for the 2006-07 season where he helped lead the Huskies to a top 10 finish at the NCAA Championship.
Tenenbaum also previously served as an assistant coach at Ohio State from 1998-2006 and earned the CRCA Assistant Coach of the Year Award in 2006. The prestigious award is designed to recognize an assistant coach who had success during the recent season, while demonstrating great team improvement from the prior season, fulfilling the team's potential and demonstrating a high level of professionalism and integrity as a coach. He also received back-to-back CRCA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2005 and 2006. Primary responsibilities for Tenenbaum at Ohio State included overseeing the second varsity eight, recruiting and assisting with the varsity squad.
Under his instruction at Ohio State, the second varsity eight finished fourth in the grand final at the 2005 and 2006 NCAA Championships. The Buckeyes second eight won both grand finals at the 2006 Big Ten and Central Region Championships and had a seven-race win streak during the regular season. In 2005, the second varsity eight also finished first at the Big Ten Championship. Tenenbaum helped guide the Ohio State first varsity four to a sixth-place finish at the 2004 NCAA Championship and a fourth-place finish in 2003.
In addition to university coaching, Tenenbaum was an assistant coach for the US Junior National Rowing Team from 1996-2001. In 1996, his junior women's eight took fourth at the World Rowing Championships in Scotland, while a year later, he was an assistant coach for the junior women's eight that finished third at the World Rowing Championships in Belgium. In 1999, he was an assistant with the junior women's eight that finished second in Bulgaria. Tenenbaum also assisted the junior national team during the summers of 2000 and 2001 when the junior women's four won gold and silver medals in Croatia and Germany respectively.
Tenenbaum was named the head coach for the U.S. Junior National team in October 2001. His junior women's eight won a bronze medal in Lithuania in the summer of 2002 and a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in Athens, Greece in 2003. He has held head coaching positions at Tulsa (1997-98), Florida Tech (1994-95), and with the Clemson Club program (1993-94) as well as being the assistant women's coach at Tennessee from 1995-1997.
A native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Tenenbaum earned a degree in marketing from the University of Tampa in 1992.
