Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women Honors Julie Odenbachas Inaugural Recipient of the Mercy Legacy in Athletics Award
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women will honor longtime golf coach Julie Odenbach as the inaugural recipient of the Mercy Legacy in Athletics Award during the Father Ed Zimmer Memorial Golf Tournament on Wednesday, May 27, at The Links at Greystone in Walworth.
The award recognizes individuals whose leadership, service and commitment have shaped athletics at the school and created lasting opportunities for young women. Odenbach founded Mercy’s girls golf program in 2000 and has helped grow the sport at Mercy and across Section V for more than 25 years.
When the program launched, Odenbach coached eight players, introducing girls’ golf at a time when the sport was still emerging at the high school level in the Rochester region. Today, Mercy fields approximately 35 golfers annually across its varsity and junior varsity programs. Under Odenbach’s leadership, the Monarchs have won five Section V girls’ golf team championships, and several former players have gone on to compete collegiately or build careers in the sport.
Odenbach was named the 2023-24 New York State Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations and is a member of the Mercy Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition to her work at Mercy, she serves as Section V girls’ golf coordinator, helping oversee and advance the sport throughout the region, and founded the junior varsity golf program at McQuaid Jesuit in 2001, where she coached for 15 years.
“Coach Odenbach is a builder in every sense of the word. She built a program, a pathway and a belief in what was possible for young women in golf,” said Christina Lacagnina, president and CEO of Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women. “It is only fitting that she is the first recipient of the Mercy Legacy in Athletics Award.”
The Father Ed Zimmer Memorial Golf Tournament, presented by Crosby Brownlie, begins with a 10 a.m. shotgun start and includes an 18-hole scramble, cocktail reception and awards ceremony, with all funds raised directly supporting Mercy student athletes. Several Mercy Athletic Hall of Fame members in attendance will also be recognized during the event.
Sponsorships for the tournament are sold out, but additional registration options are available here. For more information about athletics at Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women, visit mercyhs.com.
About Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women
Our Lady of Mercy is the only faith-based private school in Rochester exclusively for young women of all incomes, races and faith affiliations in grades 6-12. Mercy, founded through the vision of Catherine McAuley and the ministry of the Sisters of Mercy, builds life-changing competence, confidence and compassion that prepares and inspires young women to achieve the highest level of success in college, in career and in the community. For more information, visit mercyhs.com