MerriLyn Gibbs is in her fifth year as the head coach of the California University women’s golf team. She led the Vulcans to their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship in 2008 after the tournament was separated into a men’s and women’s title event. The Cal U program has also received a bid to the NCAA Regional Championship in each of the last three seasons (2006-08).
The Vulcans have received rankings as high as No. 3 in the nation, according to GolfStat during the fall 2008 season. She also has coached three-time All-American Simone DeSouza as she participated in the NCAA Division II National Championship from 2007-09. Gibbs was selected the PSAC Women’s Golf Coach of the Year last season after winning the league championship and finishing fourth at the NCAA Super Regional One Championship.
Originally, Gibbs served as the director of the Vulcans men’s and women’s golf programs, which began varsity competition in September 2005. In 2006, she relinquished her duties with the men’s team to concentrate her energies on the women’s program.
Gibbs, a graduate of Brigham Young University, served as the men’s and women’s golf coach at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D. She was charged with reviving a Cal men’s golf program that was cut more than two decades ago and starting the Vulcans’ first women’s golf team.
While at Dakota Wesleyan, Gibbs guided the men’s and women’s teams to top-five finishes in six of seven tournaments in the 2004-05 season, including one tournament title for each team. She also taught classes in the Physical Education Department.
Gibbs, who graduated from BYU in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in American studies, previously worked at three golf clubs in Idaho and Utah. She was the assistant pro and director of all teaching programs at Purple Sage Golf Course in Caldwell, Idaho. She was also the Idaho tournament director of the U.S. Kids National Championship.
She began her collegiate career at Boise State, where she was the medalist at two tournaments her freshman season. She was named the 1996 Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year while at Boise State. She then transferred to BYU and was a three-year member of the program.
Gibbs, who completed her master’s degree in sport management from Cal U in 2007, is a Class A PGA Professional. She was the 2000 Idaho Amateur Player of the Year and the Idaho State Match Play Champion in 1998 and 2000. She also won the Idaho Tournament of Champions title in 1998 and 2000 and was the bronze medalist in the 2000 Idaho State Stroke Play Tournament.
