Joe Acquaviva Promoted to Associate Head Coach At Tufts

Courtesy: Tufts Athletics

Joe Acquaviva, who has been head assistant coach for the Tufts University men’s and women’s swimming teams for the past four seasons, has been promoted to Associate Head Coach of the Jumbos.

Hired at Tufts in 2017, Acquaviva moves into the Associate Head Coach role following Abby Brethauer’s departure to become an assistant coach for the men’s swimming team at Princeton University this summer.

“Over the past four years Joe has contributed to every area of the swimming and diving programs at Tufts,” said Adam Hoyt, head coach of the Jumbo men’s and women’s teams. “Whether it’s been recruiting, practice writing, team development, alumni relations, leadership development, Joe has been there to support our teams’ development. His hard work and thoughtfulness have helped lead our program to the success both in and out the pool we’ve seen in past years, and I know will continue to have a positive influence on our future teams. Joe models the work ethic and values that we want represented both on our team and on our staff; I’m excited to have him step into this new role and continue to have a positive impact in all areas of our program.”

In Acquaviva’s first season (2017-18) working as part of the coaching staff, the men’s team won their first NESCAC championship and had a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championship that was the program’s best since 1982. During 2018-19, Tufts enjoyed great combined success with the men finishing 10th nationally and the women earning a 16th-place NCAA finish that was the team’s best since 1990. The Jumbos also had their first NCAA men’s champion swimmer since 1982 (Roger Gu in the 50 free) and their first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champion women’s swimmer since 2014 (Amy Socha in the 200 butterfly). For 2019-20, both teams were the runner-up at the conference championships. Twelve members of the women’s team and 10 from the men qualified to compete at NCAA’s before the meet was canceled due to COVID.

“I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to continue coaching at Tufts as the Associate Head Coach,” Acquaviva said. “My time here has been incredible in both my growth as a coach and in the relationships that I have developed with our amazing Jumbo student-athletes. I cannot wait to get back on deck and continue to strengthen the legacy of Tufts swimming and diving.”

A 2014 graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Acquaviva swam all four years for the Blue Jays and was captain his senior year. While at JHU, he was a 10-time All-American, a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American, and an NCAA national champion as part of the 800 freestyle relay. In this time at Hopkins he also coached an NCAA Post-Graduate scholar and the recipient of the NCAA Elite 89 Award.

Acquaviva stayed in Baltimore to obtain a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and was an assistant coach for the swimming teams. During this time as an assistant coach, the Blue Jays amassed over 50 All-American honors, six NCAA titles, a national record, and a DIII Women’s Swimmer of the Meet honor.

For two years Acquaviva also coached water polo at the club and high school levels at the William Penn Charter School. In addition to the teams finishing with some of the highest point totals in the school’s illustrious history at the Eastern Championships, they were also home to the 2016-2017 Male High School Swimmer of the Year.