Robbie Tenenbaum

Robbie Tenenbaum began his second stint at Ohio State July 13, 2017, this time as an associate head coach. Tenenbaum served as an assistant coach in Columbus from 1998-2006 primarily overseeing the Second Varsity Eight.

Now in Year Six of of his second go around in Columbus, the Buckeyes have continued their winning ways.

In 2022, the Buckeyes claimed the Big Ten Championship, the 10th conference title in program history. Ohio State then went on to race well on the final day of the NCAA Championships to claim eighth nationally. The Buckeyes have made the NCAA event 22 times in program history.

The 2022 1V4 finished second nationally with the 1V8 ending the season seventh and the 2V8, eighth overall.

Ohio State appeared in its 21st NCAA Tournament in 2021, entering the event as one of 12 at-large selections. All three NCAA boats qualified for the championships after a second-place finish in the 2021 Big Ten Regatta.

The Ohio State 1V8 ended the 2021 campaign No. 7 (NCAA No. 7 seed) behind the No. 5 2V8 (NCAA No. 6 seed) and the No. 4 1V4 (NCAA No. 6 seed).

During two years (2016 and 2017) in Norman, Okla., Tenenbaum helped coach the Sooners to back-to-back silver finishes at the Big 12 Championships. He instructed Maegan Neihart, the 2016 Big 12 Rower of the Year, and Carlijn Hutter, the 2017 Big 12 Rowing Newcomer of the Year.

Tenenbaum and the whole Oklahoma staff was named the 2017 Region 3 Staff of the Year for their work this past season that included the aforementioned Neihart and Hutter being named to the CRCA All-Region team. Three additional Sooners were named to the All-Big 12 squad alongside Neihart and Hutter. Off the water, Tenenbaum had a total of 45 rowers earn Academic All-Big 12 honors in two seasons.

Prior to his tenure at Oklahoma, Tenenbaum spent a year at Louisville as an assistant coach. Tenenbaum helped the Cardinals end the regular season ranked in the final CRCA poll at No. 18. Tenenbaum helped Darya Marchanka earn First Team All-Region CRCA honors and had 10 CRCA Scholar-Athletes.

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 first stint in Columbus was as an assistant coach from 1998-2006 and he 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.