Gymman leaps from Israel to Lions' mats

By JENNIFER SCHOENFELD
Collegian Sports Writer

Traveling to another state or city to attend college is not very unusual. But freshman gymnast Roy Malka left his country to venture to State College. Malka is from Holon, Israel, which is near Tel Aviv.

"It is very similar to here except once you turn 18, you go to the army," Malka said. "Because of that, you are basically given all of the rights that an older citizen has."

After leaving the army last August, Malka came to Penn State, where he has had many opportunities to compete with the Lions in Rec Hall. Competition is something Malka missed while he was in the army. Last weekend, he competed in the double-dual meet with the Lady Lions, contributing to Penn State's 228.95-218.65 win over Michigan State.

Malka scored a 55.4 in the all-around and recorded season-high scores on vault (9.1) and rings (9.5). However, he was one of the three Lion gymnasts to fall off the high bar (9.25).

Despite his fall, Malka is a leading force among his teammates.

"He came in with a pretty high degree of difficulty, which really helped," said Men's Gymnastics Coach Randy Jepson. "We didn't need to spend a year developing Roy into an individual who can contribute at a high level. He came right in with that ability and has been a great addition to the team."

Senior captain Dave Riordan agreed that Malka brings experience to the team.

"His role is different than the average freshman, where everything is a new experience," he said. "But he's 21, so what Roy brings is experience as well as a new rook to the team."

Making himself a key gymnast in the Lion lineup took years of hard work and dedication. Malka's older brother was a gymnast, and the two started going to the gym together when the Lion was nine. Malka said he fell in love with the sport and began practicing daily.

As he advanced with age, Malka outgrew his hometown gym and began training at the Wingate Academy. There he found better facilities and coaches, and got the opportunity to train with the Israeli National Team. He qualified for the team at age 17.

Due to his busy schedule, Malka said he missed out on a lot while growing up, especially in high school.

"My gym was a hour and a half in each direction by bus," Malka said. "As soon as I finished my day in high school, I went to the bus station and took the bus to practice. I never hung out with my friends after school hours."

While serving three years in the army, Malka continued to practice and was recognized as a "soldier-athlete." Because of this distinction, he was allowed to practice twice a week, which he did for his first year in the army. When he moved closer to the gym, in his second year, it became a five-minute walk to the Wingate Academy and enabled him to practice twice a day.

"It made it really comfortable for me to practice and serve in the army," he said.

Malka's goal was to come to the United States to combine gymnastics with college, which is not available in Israel. In search of a good university with a well-known gymnastics program, Malka contacted close to 20 coaches and liked Penn State's program best.

"It feels good to compete for Penn State," Malka said. "Here it is team competitions. The support from the team is really a driving force that keeps up the motivation."