Tennessee - Wyoming

Nora: Good morning, Ladies!

Lorna: Good morning. 

Vilma: Two more days!  I’m so excited!

Nora: I know…I bet the girls are getting nervous.

Lorna: Who wouldn’t be?  I’ll be a mess!

Nora: So we’re doing this a little different today.  We’ll do the review first and then I’m putting you on the spot by naming your top 15 before the preliminary competition.  We’ll regroup again on Thursday and see if your list changed at all.  We will also do our final prediction on Thursday so make a lot of notes!

Lorna: So we’re doing Tennessee to Wyoming today.

Vilma: Let’s start with Miss Tennessee, Ashley Durham.

Nora: I like Ashley.  She’s been hanging around my number 15 spot, drops to 16 or 17 on some days so I’m still not sure.

Vilma: She’s got appeal, she’s gorgeous and she’s blonde.  What else do you want?

Lorna: I’m having a tough time with Ashley as well.  That was not the case last year with Tucker Perry.  She was immediately on my top 15. 

Nora: Right now, if I present my top 15, she won’t be in it.

Vilma: Who took her spot?

Nora: Rhode Island.

Lorna: Well, statistic wise, Tennessee has done well.  They’ve made the semifinals 28 times and have produced two Miss USA’s since 2000.  Those are pretty good odds.

Vilma: Next is Miss Texas, Ana Rodriguez.

Lorna: She’s in!  I think the Lone Star State has a winner.

Nora: I think Ana will do well.  Top 10 or even top 5.  Do I think she’ll win Miss USA?  It’s possible.  Miss Universe is in Brazil so maybe the Trump will pick a Latina this year.  There are only 3 of them so he already has his work cut out for him.

Lorna: Nah…I think the Donald will go for a blonde this year.

Vilma: Remember, Texas didn’t make it last year with Kelsey Moore.  But they have produced the most winners, 9 to be exact!

Nora: Ana is a stronger contender but she still has to convince me that she can be Miss USA.

Nora: Okay, let’s talk about Miss Utah, Jamie Crandall.

Vilma: She is the third of the only 3 Latinas of the pageant.

Lorna: I like Jamie.  I think she’ll do well.  She is the Ashley Durham on my list.  She kinda hangs around my number 14, 15 or 16.

Vilma: Not a fan.  She lacks the appeal. 

Nora: This is a difficult one for me.  I want to say that she’ll be in the top 15 but when I see the rest of the top contenders, I change my mind immediately.

Lorna: Believe it or not, Utah has done well at Miss USA.  They’ve made the semifinals 19 times.

Nora: Jamie might be number 20.

Vilma: Miss Vermont is next, Lauren Carter.

Lorna: I think she’s adorable and charismatic.

Nora: I hope she makes top 15.

Vilma: When Brooke Werner in 2009 didn’t make the semifinals, it broke my heart.  I’m afraid to cheer for Lauren now because I don’t want her to suffer the same fate.

Nora: If she deserves it, she will be in the top 15.

Lorna: Last year, I was a big fan of Nydelis Ortiz but I’m a bigger fan of Lauren.

Vilma: I can’t wait to see how she’s going to handle herself in the preliminary competition.

Nora: Next is Nikki Poteet, Miss Virginia.

Vilma: I was not a fan in the beginning and since they’ve arrived in Vegas, she grew on me.

Nora: I do like Nikki but she lacks the charm.

Lorna: She’s not as appealing as Samantha Casey.

Vilma: If Nikki wears that evening gown in the picture, she just might make top 15.  It looks amazing on her.

Lorna: She kinda reminds me of Kandace Krueger. 

Nora: Yeah, I guess…a little bit.

Vilma: That’s unfortunate because Kandace is my least favorite Miss USA ever.

Nora: They are the first state to win a back to back title.  Did you know that?

Lorna: Yes.  1969 and 1970, right?

Nora: That’s correct.  They do really well at Miss USA so the odds are in her favor.

Vilma: Our next contestant is our very own, Miss Washington, Angelina Kayyaleynen. 

Lorna: What can I say?  She’s amazing and has an international appeal.

Vilma: I have to say that she is not very photogenic.  But when she gets that right angle, she is simply stunning.  I can already see her with that Miss USA crown.

Nora: We saw her when she won her title and I can honestly say that she has a great stage presence.  She presents herself really well.  The deciding factor will be her choice of evening gown and how she does in interviews.  I think she already has the swimsuit dialed in.

Vilma: Tracy Turnure did a great job last year, even though she was not my choice at the state level.  I’m a Angelina fan so if I have to choose between the two, I'm Angelina all the way. 

Lorna: Washington has produced a Miss USA before, believe it or not, and has made the semifinals 18 times.  The last one that made top 15 was Tara McCormick in 2004.

Vilma: I really hope Angelina makes it!

Lorna: Down to three…next up is Miss West Virginia, Whitney Veach.

Nora: Love her face, very photogenic…I wish she’s about 5 inches taller.  I’m sure she does too.

Vilma: Do you think she’ll pull a Leah Laviano?

Lorna: She could very well can.  She’s got the goods.

Nora: I think she has the most beautiful face in the pageant.  But is that good enough?  I’m not sure.

Vilma: I’m really impressed with this state because when they get it right, they sure send the most beautiful delegates.  Of course, my all-time favorite is Kelly Anderson in 1984, followed by Jessi Pierson in 2009.

 Lorna: It’s funny to me that last year’s Miss West Virginia, Erica Goldsmith, was the shortest contestant.  This year, Whitney is the second shortest contestant, second only to Miss Wisconsin.

Nora: Good luck, Whitney!

Vilma: Speaking of Wisconsin, she's next…Jordan Morkin.

Nora: Are they sure she’s in the right pageant?  Shouldn’t she be at Miss Teen USA?  I swear to God she looks like she’s 15.  She is so adorable!

Lorna: She has that All American girl next door qualities and she is amazingly cute.

Nora: Remember, she was just the replacement.  Often times, they actually do better than the original winner.  Some examples include Miss Guatemala last year, Jessica Scheel.  She made top 10 at Miss Universe and then there’s Miss Nevada USA 2007, Helen Salas.  She made top 5.

Vilma: I love Courtney Lopez last year.  I think she should have been in the top 15. 

Lorna: We all voted for her last year, didn’t we?

Nora: Yes, we did.  We all had her in our top 15 lists.

Vilma: Wisconsin hasn’t done very well at Miss USA so the odds are against Jordan.

Nora: Who knows…weirder things have happened at Miss USA.

Vilma: And finally, Miss Wyoming, Kaitlyn Davis.

Nora: With the right evening gown and great interview, she’s in.  I want this to be a back to back year for Wyoming.  Claire Schreiner broke the long drought for Wyoming last year and I hope that Kaitlyn do much better this year.

Lorna: She’s very charming.  The judges cannot overlook that.

Nora: I’m rooting for her!

Lorna: I like her too so you don’t need to convince me.

Vilma: Good luck to Kaitlyn and all the girls!

Nora: So…I’d like to put you both on the spot and give me your list of top 15 prior to the preliminary night tomorrow.  I will share mine as well and then we’ll reconvene on Thursday and see if you’re sticking to your original picks or make changes.  So who wants to go first?

Vilma: I’ll go.  Drum roll please….haha.  My top 15 are California, District of Columbia, Wyoming, Tennessee, Indiana, Arizona, Kansas, Texas, South Carolina, Washington, Florida, New Jersey, Missouri, Georgia and Illinois.

Lorna: I’m so nervous…okay, my top 15 are California, District of Columbia, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan (not happy with her), Virginia, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Washington and Utah.

Nora:  And mine is, Alabama (not happy with her), California, District of Columbia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri, Rhode Island, Wyoming, Washington, Maine, Indiana, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas.

Vilma: Good luck to all the contestants and I will see you both on Thursday.

Lorna: Sounds good.

Nora: Bye, Ladies.