March 2, 2004

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Former UC Santa Barbara forward Alma Martinez, who scored eight goals and six assists in two seasons with the Gauchos, has joined Mexico's National Team at the regional Olympic qualifying tournament in Costa Rica.

Martinez scored a goal in Mexico's 8-1 win over Trinidad & Tobago, and then she played 54 minutes in a 2-0 loss to a powerful United States National Team. Mexico will play Canada in a semifinal match. Two of the eight teams in the tournament will qualify for the Olympics in Athens this summer.

A native of Santa Barbara, Martinez attended Santa Barbara High School and Santa Barbara City College before arriving at UCSB for the 2002 season. She scored four goals and three assists in each of her two years as a Gaucho.

Martinez is the second former UCSB player to compete for the Mexican National Team. Laurie Hill, an All-American midfielder for the Gauchos from 1988 through 1991, was a member of the team in the mid-1990s. Carin Jennings, who played at UCSB from 1983 through 1986, was a forward for the United States National Team that won the 1991 World Cup and a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Jennings, now the head coach at Navy, was a four-time All-American at UCSB.