Tenenbaum Named Associate Head Coach

NORMAN, Okla. – Leeanne Crain, Oklahoma rowing's head coach, announced the addition of associate head coach Robbie Tenenbaum to the program's staff Friday. Tenenbaum comes to Norman after spending a year as an assistant at Louisville.

“We are excited to announce the hiring of Robbie Tenenbaum as our associate head coach,” Crain said. “Hiring a coach of Robbie's caliber speaks to the commitment OU has to building a championship-level program. His proven track record at some of the nation's top programs demonstrates his ability to develop student-athletes on and off the water.

“Robbie's a phenomenal recruiter and will help us in our efforts to recruit top-level talent to OU. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, and is passionate about the sport and the student-athletes he coaches. We are thrilled to have him join our coaching staff and are confident that he'll make an immediate impact on our program.”

As an assistant for the Cardinals, Tenenbaum helped Louisville earn a top-20 ranking in the final regular season poll last season. The Cardinals had a rower named First-Team All-Region by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association and 10 student-athletes chosen as Scholar Athletes in his lone season.

“I am thrilled to be joining Coach Crain with the rowing program as the associate head coach here at the University of Oklahoma,” Tenenbaum said. “I am looking forward to working with all of the student-athletes and staff here as we build on past championship success and reach for even greater heights in the future.

“The support here for the women's rowing team is fantastic with world class facilities and tremendous people supporting our program. I have a great deal of respect for the work Coach Crain has done and I am excited to be working alongside her here at Oklahoma.”

Prior to spending the 2015 season in Louisville, Tenenbaum spent five seasons with the Clemson rowing team, including four years as the head coach. In his time leading the Tigers they had four All-Americans, five First Team All-South Region rowers and 11 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 head coach.

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.

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, helping 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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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