JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Saint Peter's men's golf head coach Pete Falloon has announced the addition of Saint Peter's graduate Chris Merce as an assistant coach.
Merce returns to his alma mater after serving as the men's golf head coach at Iona for the last two years. Merce's 2015 Gaels finished second to the Peacocks, who won its second-straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) title. He also coached the 2015 MAAC Individual Champion and MAAC Rookie of the Year, who finished tied with Saint Peter's Nicholas Dilio for the tournament low score before wining the medalist honors on a playoff hole. During his two seasons, Iona had four players earn All-MAAC honors and seven players placed on the All-MAAC Academic team.
He also served as an assistant coach at Iona during the 2012-13 season and helped the Gaels finish second at the MAAC Championships. He coached four players that were named to the All-MAAC Academic team and three All-MAAC selections along with having two players qualify for the 2013 USGA Amateur Championship. Merce served as the coordinator of academics at Iona from 2012-14 and was elevated to the post of assistant director of athletics for academic services for the 2014-15 academic year.
Merce got his start in coaching at Saint Peter's as an assistant coach from 2008-12 before moving to New Rochelle. During his tenure as an assistant coach, he helped the Peacocks finish second in the MAAC Championships in 2012, which was the best finish to date until the last two championship runs. Saint Peter's paced the MAAC in All-Academic selections in 2010-11 and 2011-12 and coached All-MAAC players Sean Fitzpatrick, TJ Sumigray,and Andrew Gain. In addition, Gain became the first player in Peacocks history to qualify for a USGA event with the 2011 USGA Amateur Public Links Championship.
A four-year letterwinner on the Saint Peter's men's golf team, Merce graduated from Saint Peter's with a Bachelor Degree in history in 2008 and completed his Master's Degree in educational leadership in 2010. He was the graduate assistant for student-athlete academic support from 2008-10 and the assistant academic-athletic coordinator from 2010-12.
