SALEM. West Virginia - After a historic season that saw an NCAA Tournament bid for the Salem Tigers women's water polo program, there is some additional news about the future of water polo at Salem. Jeff Passwater has been named head coach of the women's water polo program. Passwater comes to Salem from Connecticut College, where he served as an assistant coach for the past 2 seasons. Passwater takes over for Justin Kassab, who left the program over the summer.
Salem Athletic Director Alex Joseph had this to say about the hire. "The Salem University family is thrilled to welcome Jeff Passwater as our next head coach. Throughout our thorough research, what stood out about Coach Passwater was his hard-working mentality, emphasis on player development, and vision for the future. With his diverse background, he is a great fit for us."
Passwater comes to Salem from Division III Connecticut College. At Connecticut College, Passwater coached both the men's and women's water polo teams under head coach Matt Anderson. Prior to that, he worked as an assistant coach at collegiate water polo programs across the country such as Austin College in Texas, University of the Pacific in California, McKendree University in Illinois, Brown University in Rhode Island. He also had a taste of head coaching experience during that time as he served as the head coach of the Trinidad and Tobago Junior National Water Polo teams during the 2019 Junior Pan-Am Games. Additionally, he was a head coach at the club level prior to his collegiate coaching career. Outside of water polo, Passwater graduated from Purdue University in 1999 with a degree in Sales Management.
When asked about this new opportunity at Salem, Passwater commented " I cannot wait to become a part of this outstanding program & help the athletes continue the success that has become synonymous with Salem Water Polo. I would like to thank Director Joseph for this opportunity to work with such uncommonly dedicated women."
Passwater and the women's water polo appear to be primed to build on the improvements of last year's campaign when they kick off their season in the spring of 2023.
.
