Tarah Christenson named field hockey coach at Nazareth
2016 Schedule
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Tarah Christenson, equipped with six years of college head coaching experience, has been named head field hockey coach at Nazareth College.
Christenson will be the first full-time head coach in the program's history as she replaces
Andrea Tutino, who coached the Golden Flyers for 11 seasons.
A native of Ontario, Canada, Christenson spent the 2015 season starting an intercollegiate field hockey program at Keuka College.
Before that, in 2011, she was the first head coach at St. John Fisher and stayed there for three seasons. She was named Empire 8 Conference Coach of the Year in 2012 as the Cardinals made the conference tournament in just their second season. One year later, in 2013, she helped the Cardinals reach the E8 championship game.
Christenson began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Utica College in 2004. She became the head coach there in 2007 and stayed for two seasons. Her coaching experience also includes one season as an assistant coach at the University of Rochester and a current stint as coach of the Finger Lakes Field Hockey Club.
"We're happy to have Tarah on board as a full-time coach," said Nazareth Athletic Director Pete Bothner. "She has a lot of good experience within our own conference, so we feel fortunate to have her on our staff."
Christenson was a standout player at Division I Central Michigan University. She served as co-captain for her senior season in 2003 and earned several individual accolades, including first-team Mid-American Conference all-star honors after leading the league with 16 goals. She also competed in the Division I North-South Senior all-star game.
She gained a bachelor's degree in Human Environmental Studies from Central Michigan in 2004 and a Master of Science degree in Education from Utica in 2007.
Nazareth finished 9-10 overall with a 4-4 mark in conference games in 2015, Tutino's final season.