"I guess I chose English, because I love to read books," Abeles quips with a smile. "As a freshman, I went to the pre-med meeting, and they recommended that we concentrate in something we truly love, since it might be our last opportunity to take such classes. I'm not really much of a pure science person, and I knew I'd get a lot of that in medical school."

Despite the rigorous academic schedule, Abeles continued to impress coaches and wreak havoc on opposing pitchers during her sophomore and junior seasons. She earned a coveted spot on the First Team All-Ivy League as a sophomore and led the Crimson in seven different offensive categories, including batting average, hits, doubles, triples, RBIs, slugging percentage, and homeruns.

Against Ivy rivals, Abeles torched the competition, going a perfect 7-for-7 at the plate in a double-header against Yale last year and hitting a game-winning homerun in a 1-0 win over Cornell this season.

Leading By Example

In her seamless transition from rookie standout to veteran leader, Abeles never became complacent with her performance or that of the team. Unlike the daily changes in Cambridge weather, Deborah's play has become the standard of consistency, despite enduring numerous injuries. A wrist injury hampered her during the NCAA playoffs this year, and she hurt her shoulder sophomore season.

But the pain only spoiled her pleasant demeanor when she steps between the white lines. Nobody competed more fiercely than Abeles.

"She's showed how much heart she has by playing through injuries and coming through in the clutch all the time," junior catcher Mairead McKendry says. "Not even fractured wrists, or sprained thumbs can hold Deb back for long."

Undoubtedly, Abeles has proved herself to be one of Harvard's most talented female athletes, but her ability to raise the level of play of her teammates has perhaps been her most invaluable contribution to the softball team. Under her leadership the past four years, the team has gone 39-7 against Ivy League competition and taken two conference championships.