Villanova Univeristy Athletics

PERSONAL BESTS
1 Meter Diving	285.00	La Salle (11.22.2021)
3 Meter Diving	298.90	WVU Invitational (11.19.2021)

 

CAREER HONORS AND AWARDS
2021-22 (Senior)
Most Outstanding Men's Diver	BIG EAST Championships
BIG EAST Champion	1 Meter (282.90 prelim) (565.40 final)
All-BIG EAST	1 Meter Diving
All-BIG EAST	3 Meter Diving
2020-21 (Junior)
Most Outstanding Men's Diver	BIG EAST Championships
BIG EAST Champion	1 Meter Diving (266.90 prelim) (551.05 final)
BIG EAST Champion	3 Meter Diving (283.95 prelim) (604.85 final)
All-BIG EAST	1 Meter Diving
All-BIG EAST	3 Meter Diving
2019-20 (Sophomore)
All-BIG EAST	1 Meter Diving
All-BIG EAST	3 Meter Diving
2018-19 (Freshman)
All-BIG EAST	1 Meter Diving
All-BIG EAST	3 Meter Diving
ACADEMIC HONORS
BIG EAST All-Academic Team (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22)
PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Team (2021-22)
Athletic Director's Honor Roll (Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022)

Villanova Career: Two-time BIG EAST champion and six-time All-BIG EAST performer in the diving events during his career … Swept the 1-meter and 3-meter titles as a junior in 2021 and was named the Men’s Most Outstanding Diver at the BIG EAST Championships … In his first two collegiate seasons was the runner-up in both diving competitions to teammate Michael Perra at the conference meet … Four-time selection to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team and six-time member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.
 
2021-22: Lauded as the Most Outstanding Men’s Diver for a second consecutive year at the BIG EAST Championships … Reset personal bests in the 1-meter against La Salle with a winning 285.00 score and 3-meter at the WVU Invitational with a fifth-place score of 298.80; BIG EAST (2/23-26): Won the BIG EAST crown in the 1-meter with a 565.40 total, his third conference title overall and second in the dive … Earned bronze in the 3-meter at the conference meet with a 553.85 total … Added his seventh and eighth all-conference accolades, earning the honor in both dives for a fourth consecutive season; Penn State (1/28): Finished as high as third in the 3-meter with a 290.25 score … West Virginia (1/22): Recorded a third-place performance with a 273.05; Pittsburgh (1/20): Landed fourth in the 1-meter with a 266.25 score; La Salle (11/23): Swept the meet against La Salle, winning the 1-meter (285.00) and 3-meter (282.67); WVU Invitational (11/18-20): Was fifth in both the 1 meter (269.20) and 3 meter (298.90); Penn (11/10): Logged second-place dives against Penn with a 267.75 in the 1-meter and 259.50 in the 3-meter; NJIT (11/5): Was the top diver against NJIT, winning the 1-meter (284.50) and 3-meter (273.60);  Georgetown (10/30): Notched a pair of top-five dives, earning fourth in the 1-meter with a 255.53 score and fifth in the 3-meter with a 252.98.
 
2020-21: Named the Men’s Most Outstanding Diver at the BIG EAST Championships … Won the first two individual conference gold medals of his career as he swept the BIG EAST titles in the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions … Earned the fifth and sixth all-conference honors of his career after notching top-three finishes in both diving events for the third consecutive season … On the first night of the BIG EAST meet recorded a winning total of 604.85 points on the 3-meter board … Led the field of competitors with a score of 283.95 points after the preliminary round … Came back two nights later to win the 1-meter diving competition with a score of 551.05 points … Moved up one spot to claim the gold medal after he was second with a score of 266.90 after the preliminaries … Finished first in all six of his competitions during the season, including the BIG EAST Championships as well as first place finishes on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards in dual meets against Delaware and Loyola (Md.).
 
2019-20: Finished as the runner-up to teammate Michael Perra in both the 1-meter and the 3-meter diving competitions at the BIG EAST Championships … Earned All-BIG EAST honors in each event for the second straight year … Tallied final scores of 511.40 on the 1-meter board and 544.15 on the 3-meter board at the conference meet … Ranked third in the preliminary round of the 1-meter competition before moving up a spot to take second in the final … His best score on the 1-meter board during the season was 272.25 in a first place finish at La Salle … Top 3-meter score was 295.43 in a home dual meet against Connecticut … In addition to winning the 1-meter competition against La Salle, tallied eight runner-up finishes on the year including both dual meets and the BIG EAST Championships.
 
2018-19: Earned All-BIG EAST honors in both the 1-meter and the 3-meter diving competitions … Runner-up to teammate Michael Perra in both events … Scored a total of 564.90 points on the 3-meter board and had a score of 519.75 on the 1-meter board … Recorded his top scores of the season in a dual meet against La Salle where he scored 270.22 in the 3-meter competition and 269.85 on the 1-meter board … Placed second in the 1-meter competition and fourth in the 3-meter competition at that meet … Competed at a total of eight meets as a freshman … Notched a first place finish on the 1-meter board and was the runner-up on the 3-meter board against Georgetown.
 
Rye High School: Earned six varsity letters in diving and also competed one year for the track & field team … All-league performer and Athlete of the Week honoree … Inducted to the National Honor Society … Achieved High Honor Roll status academically all four years … Winner of the Hobart and William Smith College book award.
 
Personal: Youngest of three children of James and Christine Ackert … Has two older siblings, Ryan and Haley … Enjoys playing volleyball and running during his spare time … Has no first cousins among his relatives … Chose to attend Villanova because the swimming & diving program and the student body made the school feel like home … Double major in Marketing and Business Analytics in the Villanova School of Business.