FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  (Aug. 5, 2010) – Nova Southeastern women’s golfer Maria Garcia-Austt (Sr., Montevideo, Uruguay) received NCAA Woman of the Year recognition from the Sunshine State Conference, as announced Thursday.

A graduate this past May in Business Administration, Garcia-Austt earned NGCA/Duramed First-Team All-America honors and First-Team All-Sunshine State Conference honors for the fourth consecutive year. She had four top-five finishes and six top-ten finishes for the season. Garcia-Austt finished the season with a 75.71 scoring average in 31 rounds of play.

With the help of Garcia-Austt, the defending national champion Sharks led from start to finish in the 72-hole NCAA Division II National Championships.

A selection committee composed of representatives from NCAA member schools and conferences will select 10 nominees from each division to form the Top 30 nominees later this month. The selection committee will narrow the Top 30 to three finalists from each division. From the nine remaining finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the national winner. The recipient will be announced during the 2010 Woman of the Year dinner in Indianapolis on October 17.