Honors & Accomplishments
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Winningest coach in Cornell field hockey history (129 victories)
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Winningest coach in Houghton field hockey history (111 victories)
• Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame (2010)
Coaching Experience
• Head Coach, Cornell University (2004 - Present)
• Head Coach, Houghton College (1995-2003)
• Head Coach, University of New
Brunswick (1990-95)
Education
• B.S.,
Physical Education, University of New Brunswick (1983)
Coaching At Cornell
Prior to the 2004 season, Donna Hornibrook took over the reins of the Cornell University field hockey program with the goal of building the Big Red into a winner in the Ivy League and a contender on the national level. While the journey is far from over, Hornibrook’s teams have made great progress during her first 14 seasons on East Hill.
The winningest coach in Cornell field hockey history, Hornibrook has posted a 129-101 record overall and a mark of 54-44 in the Ivy League. Her teams have earned at least 10 wins in a season 10 times, while finishing second in the conference six times. With a 3-1 victory over Georgetown on Sept. 15, 2013, she registered the 250th victory of her coaching career and she finished the 2017 season ranked 17th among active Division I head coaches in career wins (240) and 18th overall in winning percentage (.630), rankings that would be higher if the NCAA counted her 60-8-6 record at Canada's New Brunswick University.
Under her direction, Hornibrook’s players have earned 51 All-Ivy honors, including 20 first-team selections, as well as one Defensive Player of the Year and one Rookie of the Year. With goalie Carolyn Horner’s first-team All-Ivy selection in 2013, her second consecutive, the Big Red had a first-team All-Ivy goalie in five of six seasons from 2008-13. The five selections under Hornibrook matched the same number of first-team All-Ivy goalies Cornell had in the 29 seasons prior to 2008. Additionally, with Katy Weeks first-team All-Ivy selection in 2016, she became just the seventh four-time All-Ivy selection in Cornell history. Of the seven, six have played for Hornbook.
Hornibrook’s players have also earned 22 Mideast Region All-Americans honors, including Belen Martinez ’09, Catie De Stio ’11 Marisa Siergiej ’16, and Krysten Mayers '18, the only three-time selections in Cornell history. Hornibrook has seen at least one player placed on the Mideast Region All-American team in 12 of her 14 seasons at Cornell.
A coach that believes that academic success is just as important as athletic performance, Cornell has earned 71 NFHCA National Academic Squad selection under Coach Hornibrook, which is 47 more than the total number honored in the previous 15 years prior to her arrival. During her time, Cornell has also enjoyed the only seven four-time NFHCA Academic Squad selections in program history – Stephanie Brownstein ’08, Alex Botte ’12 Katie Garrity ’16, Elizabeth Schaeffler ’16, Taylor Standiford ’16, Katy Weeks '17 and Sam McILwrick '18.
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 (126-91) and in conference play (52-39).
Hornibrook Notables
• Coach Hornibrook’s teams have won a school record 11 games on four occasions (2008, 2010, 2014, 2015).
• Cornell has finished in the top three of the Ivy League standings nine times in Hornibrook’s 14 seasons, including four of the last five campaigns.
• From 2011 to 2015, the Big Red improved in both RPI and Strength of Schedule, culminating with a top 20 finish in both categories following the 2015 season.
• Cornell earned its first-ever national ranking on Sept. 30, 2014, coming in at No. 19 in the NFHCA Coach’s Poll.
• Hornibrook’s teams hold the top six spots in Cornell history for points in a single season, the top seven spots in single season goals, and the top three spots in single season assists.
• Four of the top five goal scorers in Cornell history have played for Coach Hornibrook.
• Five of Coach Hornibrook’s former players appear in the Cornell top 10 for career points.
• Eight of the top 15 assist leaders in Cornell history have played for Coach Hornibrook.
• Coach Hornibrook has coached five of the top 10 winningest goalies in Cornell history.
• Since 2008, Cornell has had five first-team All-Ivy goalkeepers, matching the amount of first-team All-Ivy goalies Cornell had in the 29 seasons prior to 2008.
• The Class of 2010 and the Class of 2016 are the winningest classes in Cornell history, posting 42 wins over a four-year span.
• During her 14 seasons, Cornell has produced five or more All-Ivy four times. In the 25 years prior to Hornibrook, the Big Red had five players honored by the conference just twice.
Prominent Cornell Pupils
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Krysten Mayers ’18 – Finished her careeer ranked first in Cornell history for career goals (42) and first overall in career points (99). Mayers was a three-time NFHCA All-Mideast Region selection and a four-time All-Ivy honoree.
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Sam McILwrick ’18 – A two-time All-Mideast Region All-American and a three-time All-Ivy selection, including a unanimous selection as a senior, McILwrick anchored the Big Red defense for four seasons.
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Katy Weeks ’17 – The seventh four-time All-Ivy selection in Cornell history, Weeks was also a two-time NFHCA All-Mideast Region selection. She finished her career ranked sixth in Cornell history for career assists (18) and ninth overall in points (62).
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Taylor Standiford ’16 – Cornell's all-time career assist leader.
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Marisa Siergiej ’16 – Was named the Ivy League Defender of the Year in 2015 and became the program’s first All-American in 13 seasons, when she was named to the second-team by the NFHCA, after being selected to the first-team All-Mideast Region for the second year in a row. Arguably the best defender in Cornell history, she was also the team’s greatest threat on penalty corners and finished her career ranked second in career goals (38) and fifth overall in career points (85).
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Hannah Balleza ’13 – A four-time All-Ivy selection, and the Ivy League Rookie of the year in 2010, Balleza finished her career as one of the most dangerous offensive threats in Big Red history, currently ranking fourth overall in career points (91), third in career goals (35) and fourth overall in career assists (21).
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Catie DeStio ’11 – A three-time NFHCA Regional All-American she graduated as Cornell's all-time leading scorer (94 points) who also owned the school record for game-winning goals (12). DeStio became the first player in school history to earn first-team All-Ivy honors three times and currently ranks third overall in career goals (36).
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Belen Martinez ’09 – Cornell's first-ever three-time NFHCA Regional All-American, she was also a four-time All-Ivy selection at back.
Prior To Cornell
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.
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, the University of New Brunswick in Canada, 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. Eleven of her players were also junior and senior national team members. She was selected as the conference coach of the year four times and was once selected as the national university coach of the year.
Playing Career
Hornibrook, who was inducted into the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, is a graduate of the University of New Brunswick in Canada where she was a four-time all-conference and four-time national tournament all-star selection. She was the Prince Edward Island Female Athlete of the Year in 1980 and 1981 and was 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.
Personal
Hornibrook and her husband, Dwight, head coach of the Big Red women’s soccer team, currently reside in Lansing. They have two daughters, Kathryn, who played soccer for Houghton College, and Emily.
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MILESTONE VICTORIES
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DATE
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RESULT
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ACCOMPLISHMENT
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9/04/2004
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6-3 vs. Lehigh
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1st win at Cornell
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9/29/2007
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4-3 at Princeton
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Snapped Cornell’s 16-game losing streak to the Tigers.
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10/25/2007
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3-2 at #19 Syracuse
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Snapped the Big Red’s 23-game losing streak to the Orange and gave Cornell its first win against a nationally ranked opponent under Hornibrook.
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9/20/2008
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3-1 vs. Penn
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Cornell christens its new turf with a victory over Penn in the first game ever played on Marsha Dodson Field.
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10/23/2009
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7-3 vs. Brown
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50th win at Cornell
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10/13/2010
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4-0 vs. Harvard
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75th win at Cornell
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9/15/2013
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3-1 vs. Georgetown
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250th win of Hornibrook’s coaching career.
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9/13/2015
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5-0 vs. Monmouth
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100th win at Cornell
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10/21/ 2016
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6-1 vs. Brown
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Hornibrook becomes the winningest coach in Cornell field hockey history.
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10/29/2016
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3-2 (2OT) vs. # 13 Princeton
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The highest ranked opponent defeated during Hornibrook’s tenure.
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Coach Hornibrook on Sidelines
