Parents always tell their kids to study and work hard. Those beliefs are especially important to the Kent State women’s rugby club team, and particularly, for captain Sarah Giachetti.

Giachetti, a senior speech pathology and audiology major, is a USA Rugby Collegiate Academic Honor Roll recipient for the 2014-2015 school year. She maintains a high GPA all while being the captain for the Flashes’ rugby club team.

“Her academic success speaks volumes to who she is as a person and player,” said head coach Jeff Horton. “She is extremely dedicated and disciplined…(and) gives 120 percent effort. Sarah’s focus and drive fuels this team.”

That drive Horton emphasized comes from a personal experience that inspired Giachetti to study speech pathology and audiology.

“I have a younger cousin who began speaking much later than what’s typical, and I found myself always trying to communicate with him,” Giachetti said. “I was really interested in why he wasn’t talking yet because it was obvious that he understood language. He was later diagnosed with a speech disorder called childhood apraxia… and is still receiving treatment for it today.”

Rugby has been another passion of Giachetti’s since her senior year of high school.

“I always wanted to play football with my brother and this was the closest thing I could find,” Giachetti said. “I fell in love with it right away.”

The Flashes (3-1) take on Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan University (0-2 in the MAC) this Saturday on the road.

Kyle Samec is a sports reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].