Julie Heller Dembert
A four-year member of both the field hockey and lacrosse programs at Penn, Julie Heller Dembert was one of the true pioneers of Ivy League women’s sports. She was a member of the first two All-Ivy teams in both sports as a junior and senior, earning first-team honors each time. In 1981, she received the Julie Staver Award as the top athlete to play both field hockey and lacrosse. Heller was a two-time captain in lacrosse, and co-captain of field hockey as a senior. As a lacrosse player, Heller still held Penn women's lacrosse single-season record for goals at the time of her induction with 58; in fact, nobody had come within 10 goals of her record in the ensuing 33 years. At the time of her induction, Heller still was seventh on the program's all-time list in assists (41); eighth all-time in points (132); and ninth all-time in goals (91). In field hockey, Heller helped the Quakers go 4-0-2 in Ivy play in 1978 and Penn would go 11-2-5 against Ivy opponents during her final three years. After muddling around the .500 mark her first three seasons, Penn went 10-4-1 overall in 1980 and reached the EAIAW Regionals where the Quakers fell to Delaware, 2-0. That team finished the season ranked 18th nationally by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. The lacrosse program enjoyed far more success, record-wise, during Heller’s career; Penn went 39-13-3 during her career including 12 wins in 1980 (12-3-2) and 10 in 1981 (10-3-0). The Red and Blue went 9-1-2 in Ivy play those two years, sharing the 1980 Ivy League title with Yale (both with 4-0-2 records). Heller’s junior year, Penn advanced to the U.S. Women’s Lacrosse Association Championships. At the USWLAs, Penn routed James Madison and edged William & Mary to reach the semifinal round, where the Quakers dropped a heartbreaker to Maryland, 5-4. The Red and Blue recovered to down UMass, 8-5, for third place.
