FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University women's golf team and head coach Amanda Brown are pleased to announce the hiring of former LPGA golfer Maru Martinez as a volunteer assistant for this season.
 
Martinez, an alumna of Auburn University, was the first professional, full-status golfer in Venezuelan history, male or female. Her debut professionally was a third-place finish at the 2006 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, allowing her to be fully exempt for the following season, when she participated in 16 events.
 
"I'm very excited to have Maru join the coaching staff," said Brown. "She has a valuable range of knowledge and experience as player on the LPGA, and I'm looking forward to having her as a volunteer assistant coach."
 
At Auburn, she was twice named as an NGCA First Team Division I All-American, and was the 2006 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year as well as SEC Champion. All four seasons, was a member of the All-SEC First Team, and still to this day, holds the program record for tournament wins. At the completion of her collegiate career, she finished second in the Golfstat individual rankings, third in the World Golf Amateur rankings, and was a nominee for the Nancy Lopez Award, given to the "most outstanding amateur golfer in the world."
 
Martinez was an exemplary student as well, being named four times to the College of Business Dean's List, three times to the Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll, and because she maintained a GPA higher than 3.5, was chosen by ESPN The Magazine as an Academic All-American.
 
In addition to her collegiate success, Martinez won multiple international events and awards. Four times, she was the South American Junior Champion, and was once the Venezuelan National Match Play Champion. She received the Marquez Award in Venezuela for having the lowest stroke average, and had four tournament records at the Venezuelan Junior National Championships. Also, in 2005, she finished as the runner-up in the US Women's Amateur to current pro star Morgan Pressel.
 
She continues to be involved in her native country, as a current member of the Venezuelan National Team and working with the Venezuelan Golf Federation, helping work with the development of the sport. At this time, Martinez is pursuing her MBA in sports revenue generation at NSU's Huizenga Business School.