SARAH ELIMINATED FROM UPN'S "AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL"

Sarah, a waitress from Baltimore, became the second girl eliminated from the fourth cycle of UPN's hit series AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL, reducing the pool from 13 girls to 12.

The girls were greeted at a football stadium by expert-runway trainer J. Alexander, who used the lines on the field to help them perfect their walk. At first, many of the girls seemed to have difficulty, but J. noticed that Sarah stood out as the most awkward. J. began the next lesson which would teach the girls how to walk gracefully using runway accessories while walking down stairs in high-heeled shoes. Again, Sarah's lack of confidence caused her to stand out from the other girls. "I feel like I'm watching a race between the tortoise and the hare, and Sarah, you are the tortoise," he said.

The next morning, the ladies were taken to K-Mart where they faced off against one another in a runway challenge duel, with J. Alexander and modeling/talent scout Sandi Bass serving as judges. During this challenge, it became apparent that Sarah had not overcome her self-consciousness. "I need more spunk," J. barked just before eliminating her from the challenge.

The following morning, photo shoot director Jay Manuel greeted the girls at Los Angeles's Griffith Park. Here they were directed to pose with a handsome flower salesman, a flower bouquet and several dogs for a 1-800-Flowers.com ad. It seemed that many of the girls improved on their skills behind the camera; however, Sarah's expressions fell flat. "Sarah is acting like a piece of driftwood," Jay Manuel commented after the shoot.

At the next evening's elimination ceremony, the models were given a potato sack and challenged to walk the runway in their best attempt to make it seem high fashion. After deliberations, the judges felt that although Sarah's picture was one of the strongest the week prior, her continued lack of confidence singled her out for elimination from becoming AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL. Tyra commented to Sarah, "We feel you melting. We see such a strong face. We wonder if this girl can see her loveliness, if she believes in it� because if you don't believe, we don't believe."

The winner of UPN's AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL will have the opportunity to be managed by Ford Models. She will also receive a $100,000 contract with cosmetics giant CoverGirl. Finally, the winner will appear in a fashion spread in Elle magazine.

The fourth installment of UPN's hit dramality series AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL follows 14 young women as they attempt to prove they have what it takes to make it in the high-stress, high-stakes world of modeling. Banks, who created the show, also serves as executive producer along with Ken Mok ("Making the Band"). Anthony Dominici ("The Amazing Race") serves as co-executive producer.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL airs Wednesdays, (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on UPN. For more information about AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL log on to www.upn.com.