NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion University Athletics announced on Monday the first member of its 2026 ODU Sports Hall of Fame induction class, former women’s golfer Maggie Simmermacher.
A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Simmermacher racked up accolades all four years she competed as a Monarch. As a freshman in 2014-15, she was voted Conference USA Freshman and a First Team All-C-USA selection while adding All-Tournament Team honors after tying for fourth at the C-USA Championship. Her first year in Norfolk saw her tabbed C-USA Golfer of the Week three times and post five Top-10 finishes, to include a runner-up performance at the John Kirk Tournament and tying for third at the River Landing Tournament. She capped off her freshman season by qualifying for match play at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur. She proved just as diligent in the classroom as she was named to the Dean’s List.
As a sophomore in 2015-16, Simmermacher earned All-C-USA Second Team honors, placed 10th at the C-USA Championship, and was a C-USA All-Academic Team honoree. She also represented her home country at the Spirit International Golf Tournament. She was voted C-USA Golfer of the Week twice after placing 10th at the River Landing Classic and finishing fifth at the Henssler Financial tournament. Additionally, she took fourth at the Lady Pirate Invitational and tied for ninth at the Golfweek Fall Challenge.
Simmermacher repeated as an All-C-USA Second Team selection as a junior in 2016-17 while helping the Monarchs capture their first conference title in program history. After placing fifth at the UNF Collegiate, she claimed a second-place finish at the C-USA Championship and went on to earn VaSID All-State First Team honors after leading the Monarchs with a 74.7 stroke average.
She then capped off her collegiate career by being named the Conference USA Player of the Year as a senior in 2017-18, becoming the first player in school history to earn a conference player of the year award. The All-Conference First Team honoree cut her stroke average down to 73.8 and turned in four Top-10 performances, to include finishing third at the Palmetto Intercollegiate and tying for sixth at the UNF Collegiate to help ODU capture the team title. Simmermacher finished 24th at the C-USA Championship and tied for 82nd at the Madison Regional, leading to another VaSID All-State First Team nod.
Since graduating in 2018 with a degree in international business and a minor in economics, Simmermacher has gone on to play professionally on The Ladies European Tour, finishing second at the 2020 Ladies Open de France, the 2021 Skaftö Open, and the 2022 South
African Women’s Open. She also represented Argentina at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she finished 58th. She also earned her LPGA Tour card for 2023 after tying for 38th at the 2022 LPGA Q-Series.
The rest of the 2026 ODU Sports Hall of Fame Class will be announced throughout the remainder of this week and the group will be inducted during the Jeff & Billye Chernitzer Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday, September 25 in Chartway Arena.
