Miami Names Andrew Carter Head Coach for Rowing
July 30, 2009
Coral Gables, Fla. – Andrew Carter, a former assistant coach at Clemson University, has been selected as head rowing coach at the University of Miami. He brings to the Hurricanes program over 20 years of coaching experience both on the collegiate and international levels of competition.
Carter arrives to UM via Clemson University where he spent the 2008-09 season as an assistant coach under Richard Ruggieri and the Tigers program. He takes over the Hurricanes program for interim head coach Boban Rankovic who stepped in following the resignation of Robbie Tenenbaum.
“Andrew Carter is a very experienced and highly-respected coach,” stated Kirby Hocutt, UM Director of Athletics. “He has a proven background and a wealth of experience as an NCAA Division III head coach, as well as being a top-level assistant on the Division I level. We are excited about welcoming him to the Hurricanes family. I would also like to thank Coach [Boban] Rankovic for stepping in and providing stability as the interim head coach this spring.”
In his only year at Clemson, Carter worked closely with the varsity rowers, specializing in small boat training, biomechanical analysis, rigging, and technique screening. With the Tigers, Carter helped Clemson achieve a No. 9 national ranking going along with eight top-three finishes during the fall season, as well as helping the Tigers claim their first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship. With the ACC crown, the Tigers earned their first NCAA Championships appearance. Carter personally coached the Tigers’ NCAA Champion Varsity 4+ crew at the NCAA Championships on May 31 in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Throughout his career, Carter has won more than 50 medals as a coach, in addition to coaching seven All-Americans and 13 National Scholar-Athletes in just the past eight years alone.
“I’m very excited to join the team in the University of Miami Athletic Department, and am very appreciative of the opportunity made possible by Director of Athletics, Kirby Hocutt and Associate Directors, Connie Nickel and Tony Hernandez,” expressed Carter. “The University of Miami’s athletic department is clearly known to be among the elite programs in the country, and I’m very proud to become part of a department with such a tradition of excellence.”
Prior to his one-year stint at Clemson, Carter spent seven years as head rowing coach at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine where he helped lead the Bobcats women’s team to back-to-back NCAA Division III Women’s Rowing Championships appearances. He was in charge of both men’s and women’s programs at Bates.
Under Carter’s guidance, the Bates men’s team became one of the top programs in any NCAA division. Among the student-athletes Carter coached at Bates was 2005 graduate Andrew Byrnes, who was a gold medalist for the Canadian National Team (men’s eight) at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
During the 2006-07 season, Carter spent a sabbatical year serving as the Director of Coach development for Otago Rowing Association in Dunedin–the capital of Otaga province in New Zealand. While working with Otaga Rowing, he also headed the regional high performance ID and development program.
Before his time at Bates, Carter served as an assistant coach at the University of Southern California during the 1999-2000 season. From 1996-1999, he served as head coach at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. In addition, Carter has coached various successful collegiate, club and provincial programs throughout his native country of Canada.
Carter spent two years working at Canada’s National Rowing Center in London, Ontario prior to coming to the United States. His achievements as a rower and coach are well-documented, including numerous medals in many of North America’s major rowing competitions such as the National Invitational Championship, Dad Vail, Canadian Championship, Royal Canadian Henley and the Head of the Charles Regatta.
“I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the prospects at Miami,” continued Carter. “To be part of a program that has such support from both the University and Athletic Department is an incredible pleasure. The Department is clearly committed to the overall success of each and every student-athlete and to know that I’ll be surrounded by that each day gives me great confidence as I take on this new role. Everything from an absolutely fantastic practice venue to a first-class support network of administrators, academic counselors, athletic trainers, sport performance, and facilities staff makes Miami an outstanding rowing opportunity, and I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.”
In addition to being a U.S. Rowing Level III and Rowing Canada Aviron Level IV certified coach, Carter received a B.Sc. (Kinesiology) in applied sports science from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as well as achieving a M.Sc. (Kinesiology) in Biomechanics from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Highly regarded in both the academic and coaching fields, Carter is a regular speaker at national and international coaching conferences on topics in biomechanics, technique, equipment, and training.
For more information on the University of Miami rowing program, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com.
