At age 16, Nirvana Zaher came to the United States to follow a dream. She had to say goodbye to friends and family, but she always kept home in her heart.

Nirvana Zaher left her native country of Egypt after she graduated from a British high school in Cairo, Egypt, and moved to California to compete for Sacramento State coach Kim Hughes’ gymnastics team.

In the summer of 2000, Zaher was visiting her brother Sherif Zaher — who was attending Sac State and playing on the men’s tennis team — and heard of the strong gymnastics program. She submitted a resume to Hughes with a videotape of some of her routines.

“I knew I wanted to do college gymnastics, so I got to meet up with Kim that summer,” Nirvana Zaher said. “He eventually offered me a full ride.”

During her schooling in Cairo, Nirvana Zaher was taught in English and spoke Arabic at home, so language was no barrier in the move to America.

However, leaving her family in Northern Africa was extremely difficult.

“My favorite place in the entire world is sitting around the dinner table with my family,” Zaher said.

Athleticism is common in the Zaher family. Her father has played tennis regularly throughout his life; her brother, Sherif, now coaches the men’s tennis team at Sac State after starring for the Hornets and her mother has a black belt in karate.

“I always avoided messing with her,” Nirvana Zaher quipped.Religion also played a key role in the relationship between her and family. Nirvana Zaher says her family raised her to be a very liberal Muslim.

Strict Muslims would never allow a woman to dance in public revealing as much as gymnasts do, but Nirvana Zaher seems comfortable in her Hornets green and black leotard.

However, her passion for gymnastics and her devotion to the Muslim faith did not always mesh well.

Last November, while the holy month of Ramadan was taking place, so was the gymnastics preseason: During Ramadan, Muslims are supposed to fast from sunrise to sunset for the entire month. Nothing is allowed to enter the mouth during this time.

It is considered the most important time in the Muslim faith.

To stay competitive Nirvana Zaher found a way to balance her two devotions — she fasted only on weekends to avoid seriously hampering her preparation for the coming season.

“I’m not going to jeopardize my career just for that,” Nirvana Zaher said. “God is understanding; he knows I’m doing my best to be a good Muslim, and my dad is understanding of that.”

Her mother, Nafissa Zaher, accompanied her daughter to America, where she lived with her for the entire freshman season. The two of them lived in an apartment and her mother did not take a job while staying in the United States.

“She went to the gym every day and took care of me,” Nirvana Zaher said. “I was pampered. Now I have to do my own laundry and cook my own dinner!”

Nafissa Zaher returned to Cairo shortly before the beginning of Nirvana Zaher’s sophomore year.

“That’s when I took on this new dimension,” Nirvana Zaher said. “I felt like I was really getting into the college life.”

Now, as one of five seniors on the gymnastics team, Zaher lives with two players from the Sac State women’s tennis team and a woman from the golf team.

In her freshman season, Nirvana Zaher set the new school record on the balance beam with a 9.925, winning the event at the conference championships in 2002. Just to stay busy in the offseason, Nirvana Zaher competed at the African Championships.

She also took first place in the conference championships on the vault in 2003 and 2004.

In her junior year of 2004, when she qualified for the NCAA West Regionals in all around for the second straight season, Nirvana Zaher decided to move into the dorms on campus.

“I thought it was a good experience,” says Zaher. “It allowed me to meet a lot of new people and make new friends.”

Most recently Nirvana Zaher helped the Hornets to a season-high score of 194.525 against UC Davis on Sunday, while taking first place in the all-around with a score of 38.975.

Nirvana Zaher has qualified for the NCAA West Regionals her first three seasons while competing under Hughes and hopes to do so again as a senior.

This Friday night’s home meet against Cal State Fullerton is Senior Night for Hornet gymnastics and Nirvana Zaher is already getting ready for the emotional night.

“I’m going to do my best to not be a wreck,” Nirvana Zaher said.

————————————————————————————Brad Alexander can be reached at [email protected]