Old Dominion University honors five former student-athletes during tonight’s Jeff and Billye Chernitzer ODU Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner and Ceremony. ODUSports.com takes a look at the five inductees as they head into the ODU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Sarah Breen Christou (Field Hockey) – Melbourne, Australia – 2012-15
Sarah Breen Christou scored 44 goals and had 16 assists for 104 points during her ODU career. Breen Christou was one of ODU’s top goal scorers the minute she stepped on campus, accounting for 12 goals and eight assists her first season in Norfolk. Her freshman season saw the Monarchs go 15-6 and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, in what was ODU Head Coach Beth Anders’ final season.
Breen Christou’s second season was more of the same, as she put away 10 goals with two assists and helped lead the Monarchs back to the NCAA Tournament.
The native of Melbourne, Australia finished her ODU career with back-to-back 10 goal seasons to give her double-digits in goals all four seasons with the Monarchs.
Tim Hopkinson (Men’s Soccer) – Nottingham, England – 2010-13
Hopkinson was a three-time all-conference performer and also a three-time all-region selection. As a sophomore he earned second team All-CAA honors and also gained second team all-region.
As a junior he led the Monarchs with 10 goals and 25 points and garnered first team All-CAA honors and again second team all-region.
As a senior, Hopkinson led Conference USA with 12 goals and led the league with 28 points. He was named the C-USA Player of the Year, first team all-conference and all-region, and was a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy.
Hopkinson still ranks fourth in ODU history with 33 career goals and is third with 85 career points.
Daniel Hudson (Baseball) – Virginia Beach, Va. – 2006-08
Hudson was a Freshman All-American and CAA All-Rookie team selection in his first season with the Monarchs and received All-CAA honors as a sophomore and junior.
In 2007, he went 8-5 with a 3.46 ERA to garner first team honors. He tossed a pair of complete games that season, including a career high 15 strikeout performance in a 2-1 win over Delaware.
Hudson was drafted in the fifth round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox and made his MLB debut in 2009. He pitched 15 seasons in the big leagues, finishing with a 65-45 record with a 3.74 ERA and 43 saves. He won two World Series titles, including recording the final three outs to lift the Washington Nationals to the 2019 World Series.
Taylor Heinicke (Football) – Atlanta, Ga. – 2011-14
The 2012 Walter Payton Award winner, Heinicke led ODU to a pair of FCS Playoff appearances, its first ever FBS wins and more memories to count during his legendary career. Heinicke owns 33 school records and several NCAA records, including FCS records for most passing yards in a quarter, half and game, when he passed for 730 yards and had 791 yards of total offense in a 64-61 come-from-behind win over New Hampshire.
It was one of many big games for Heinicke, as he passed for more than 300 yards 26 times as a Monarch and had 10 games with more than 400 yards. He ranks in the top 10 in Division I history in passing yards with 14,959 and touchdown passes with 132 and was the first quarterback from a Virginia Division I school to pass for more than 10,000 yards.
Heinicke went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft but signed with the Minnesota Vikings. He saw his first NFL regular season action in 2017 with the Houston Texans and earned his first start in 2018 with the Carolina Panthers. He was signed in 2020 by the Washington Commanders as the emergency Covid quarterback but ended up starting in the playoffs against the eventual Super Bowl Champions, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. Heinicke was the starter for the Commanders in 2021 before signing with his hometown Atlanta Falcons in 2023. He was traded to the LA Chargers in 2024 and announced his official retirement earlier this summer.
Maggie Simmermacher (Women’s Golf) - Buenos Aires, Argentina – 2014-18
Simmermacher helped lead the ODU women’s golf program to new heights, delivering ODU to its first Conference USA Championship and first two NCAA Tournament appearances.
A four-time all-conference honoree, Simmermacher earned first team all-conference accolades her first and last seasons and received second team honors as a sophomore and junior. Her final season in Norfolk she was named the Conference USA Player of the Year.
Simmermacher earned a pair of top five finishes at the C-USA Championships, including finishing in second her junior season.