A pioneer for many of today's female student-athletes at Penn, Debra Censits Donnally NU'81, GNu '83 was an integral part in defining the determination and passion that are hallmarks of Quakers.
A dual-sport athlete in field hockey and women's lacrosse, she earned eight varsity letters from 1977-1981, contributing mightily in all four of her years at Penn.
In field hockey, Censits was a four-year starter for legendary head coach Anne Sage, anchoring the team to two postseason appearances in the fall of 1978 and 1980. Her senior season saw the Quakers post their first 10-win season, compiling a 10-4-1 record, which included a convincing 5-1 win over four-time national champion West Chester. The defense, led by Censits, was the hallmark of field hockey's berth in the Eastern Regional Tournament of the Division I AIAW Championship -- the predecessor to the NCAA Championship -- allowing just 16 goals in 15 games. At the end of that 1980 season, field hockey achieved a national ranking of No. 16 and Censits earned her second consecutive first-team All-Ivy selection.
Not content to deny opponents on the field hockey turf, Censits was just as determined to keep opposing teams at bay on the lacrosse field. After playing attack her freshman year -- where she once scored five goals in a single game -- Censits moved to defense for her final three seasons and dominated at that position. A second-team All-Ivy selection in 1980 and 1981, Censits helped the Red and Blue to a 12-3-2 record in 1980, which set a mark for wins in a single season that stood until 2007. The Quakers were 4-0-2 in the Ivy League in 1980, claiming the program's first Ivy title and first postseason appearance. The trip to the AIAW National Tournament was a successful one for Censits and the Quakers, as they advanced to the Final Four and ultimately finished No. 3 in the nation. Buoying the team the entire season was the Censits-led defense, which allowed an average of just 3.59 goals-per-game. That is still the program's best defensive season to date.
Just as impressive as her work on the playing field was Censits' pioneering efforts in the Nursing program at the University. Working with then-Dean Claire Fagin, Censits designed a change in the clinical program, setting up nighttime clinicals which allowed her to play midweek games her junior year -- something which had not been done before. Moving her nine-hour clinical to the evening put her time at a premium, but it allowed Censits to become the first-ever Nursing student to compete in four years of varsity athletics in either field hockey or women's lacrosse (or, in her case, both). Since then, hundreds of other student-athletes have followed those footsteps, playing a sport at Penn while getting a Nursing degree.
