ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell field hockey head coach Donna Hornibrook will be inducted into the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame, as was announced this morning. Hornibrook, a native of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, has an enjoyed an excellent field hockey career, not only as an outstanding player, but as a very successful coach.

“I want to express my sincerest thanks to everyone who took part in making this honor possible,” said Hornibrook. “I am truly humbled to have been selected and I know that it would not have been possible without the kind support of many individuals throughout the process. I am especially grateful to Bob Danner (VP for Student Life, Emeritus; Houghton College) for the unbelievable amount of work and time that he invested in nominating me.”

A graduate of the University of New Brunswick in Canada, Hornibrook was a four-time all-conference selection, a four-time national tournament all-star selection, and a two-time Prince Edward Island Female Athlete of the Year (1980, 1981). Hornibrook was also selected to play on the Canadian national team and competed with the squad from 1979-83. The team earned a bronze medal in the 1981 European Championships in Berlin before finishing fifth at the 1981 World Cup in Argentina. She also played on the 1986 Canadian national championship British Columbia team.

Following her collegiate and national team experiences, Hornibrook started her coaching career as the coach of the New Brunswick provincial team, leading the squad to a gold medal at the 1989 Canada Games.

She went on to coach at her alma mater, leading the team to a 60-8-6 record from 1990-1995. During that period, her teams never lost a conference game, winning five AUAA conference titles and two silver medals at the Canadian University championships. Twenty-five of her players earned all-conference honors and one was selected as the national player of the year. She was selected as the conference coach of the year four times and was once selected as the national university coach of the year.

The sixth head coach of field hockey at Cornell, Hornibrook came to the East Hill after a successful nine-year stint as head coach at Houghton College from 1995-2003. Her teams earned a record of 111-39-4 during that time, including a school-record 16 wins in 2003. In 1997, her small college team defeated two-time defending NCAA Division II champion Bloomsburg University 2-1, and recorded a similar feat in 1998, defeating NCAA Division II runner-up Lock Haven, 4-2. Her Houghton squads posted 15-win seasons in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

At Cornell, Hornibrook has led the Big Red to the most successful stint in program history as she has turned Cornell into a contender in the Ivy League year-in and year-out. Since bringing in her first full recruiting class prior to the 2005 season, the Big Red has joined Princeton in being the only Ivy League teams to post winning records both overall (48-33) and in conference play (23-11), as well as finish in the top-four of the conference standings for the past five seasons. Under her tutelage, Cornell has won at least 10 games in four of her six seasons, including the 2008 team that set the school mark for overall victories (11). The 2008 squad also set program records for conference victories (6), goals (45), assists (38) and points (128) in a season.

Sponsored by the PEI Mutual Insurance Company, Hornibrook will be inducted along with three outstanding individuals from the hockey world in Doug MacLean, Gordie Whitlock and William “Bud” MacEachern; and a tennis player considered by many to be the finest ever seen in this province, the late Dr. Bill Moreside.

The induction ceremony will take place at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside on Friday, August 6. Tickets for the dinner will be available from July 12 at Sport PEI, the PEI Sports Hall of Fame in the Wyatt Centre in Summerside, and the Silver Fox. Tickets will be $25. For more information, contact Nick Murray at publicrelations@sportpei.pe.ca.