Dakota Wesleyan University Women's Basketball

Christensen, who is looking to continue building the team to one of the top squads in the GPAC. The 2015-16 Tigers brought about a return to the glory years with an unexpected run to the national quarterfinals. Afte being picked to finish eighth in the GPAC and losing potential starting point guard Chesney Nagel prior to the first game to a season-ending injury, Chrsitensen led a group of Tigers without a senior on the squad to a tie for second place in the league and a runner-up finish in the GPAC postseason tournament.  DWU entered the NAIA Women's Division II National Tournament for the first time in 12 years and promptly marched through its first two opponents. DWU's win over Haskell Indian Nations in the first round was the 100th for Christensen as the Tigers' head coach, making him just the second coach in the school's history to reach the milestone.  Christensen was named the USMC/WBCA Region Coach of the Year for 2015-16, guiding the Tigers to a record of 27-9 overall, the third most wins in program history. The Tigers also set four season team records - points (2,727), field goal percentage (44.8%), free-throw percentage (76.3%) and assists (640) - in 2015,16, while setting new marks for points in a game (126) and free-throw accuracy in a game (21-of-21). The 2015-16 squad included five All-GPAC honorees, while junior Erica Herrold was named to the NAIA All-American Second Team.  Christensen who is 101-90 at DWU after six seasons brought a wealth of basketball coaching experience, as well as knowledge of the area, with him to the Tiger program.  DWU is Christensens first collegiate coaching position, but he has 11 very successful years of high school coaching under his belt.  For nine seasons, he coached the Mount Vernon High School girls basketball team. In those nine seasons, his teams went 173-29 (.856) with six conference titles, five district championships and four region titles. In 2004 and 2005, Christensen led the Fillies to back-to-back Class B state titles with a 49-0 record.  Mount Vernon also took second- and third-place finishes in two other trips to state. Christensen was nominated for the South Dakota Girls Coach-of-the-Year award four times and won the honor in 2004.  He also coached the South Dakota/Nebraska All-Star Game. Before coming to Dakota Wesleyan, Christensen spent two seasons turning the Wagner High School boys basketball team into a state-title contender.  Before his tenure with the Red Raiders, the team won 10 games in three seasons.  In Christensens two seasons, the team went 34-8 (.809), won two conference titles and also achieved a top-five ranking in the South Dakota Sportswriters Association Boys Basketball Poll. Christensen has also had the opportunity to coach at camps in South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa, and he has organized individual camps in Mount Vernon and Wagner. He has also helped organize several basketball camps at Mitchell High School. Christensen grew up in Mitchell and played high school basketball for the Kernels before graduating from Dakota Wesleyan in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education.  He received a masters degree in physical education, health and recreation from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan., in 2004. Christensen and his wife, Michelle, live in Mitchell, S.D., with their two children, Kaitlyn and Tyler.