Elina Ivanova the tenth girl eliminated from 'America's Next Top Model'

After falling into her third bottom two in as many weeks and failing to follow the judges' suggestions that she show more emotion, Elina Ivanova, an unemployed 19-year-old from Seattle, WA, became the tenth girl to be eliminated from America's Next Top Model's eleventh season during last night's broadcast of the CW reality series.


"Entering this competition I didn't really think that it would add anything new about my personality or maybe things I needed to work on, but it really has," Elina said following her elimination. "Now I'm aware of everything I need to improve on in modeling and on myself. If I don't fix this control or whatever it is that is holding me back than I cant model, so it needed to happen now and it did.

America's Next Top Model's ninth episode with Analeigh, a 19-year-old student from Sacramento, CA, thinking about her status as a threat among the other girls as they returned on their bus from their previous meeting with judges in Amsterdam, Holland.

"These girls in the house don't feel like I'm their competition, and they feel like I'm just a pretty girl, but at the end of the day it's not what they think it's what the [judges' panel] thinks," Analeigh said, before adding that she felt she had been improving as the competition progressed.

While on the bus Elina also complained to Marjorie, a 19-year-old student from San Francisco, CA,  about the judges' ongoing comments that she had been appearing "too stiff" in her pictures. Marjorie listened to Elina quietly, but she later revealed that she took issue with Elina's inability to admit to her own flaws.


"I think Elina is in the bottom two because she's not trying. She's not doing anything different. [Tyra Banks] wants her to push in a different direction, [but] I think Elina's been giving the same face over, and over and over," Marjorie said. "It's strange, she's just convinced she's got everything right, and that can be a little tiring."

The next day, girls met with Frederick Koster, the managing director of the Touch Models modelling agency, who told them that they would be given four hours to go on "go-see" visits with up to five Amsterdam designers. At each designer, the girls were told that they would be evaluated on their photo portfolio, runway walk, general appearance, and personality.

The girls also learned that they would have to find each designer's store on their own and would be transported around using boats on the city's canals, and had to be back by 5PM or they would be disqualified from the challenge.

McKey, a 19-year-old student from Lake Forest, IL, met with designer Monique Collignon, who thought that she had a "gorgeous face" and "would look stunning in a show."

After initially being confused by Amsterdam's signs, Analeigh said that she wanted to use the "go-sees" to measure how marketable she was as a model.


"I just want this so badly, because if I win this challenge it means that international designers see something in me and that I can get hired," Analeigh said.

Analeigh eventually found the store of designer Hans Ubbink, who came away impressed with her.

"She was really there, and presenting herself right form the start, which I think is a good thing," he said.

Elina got lost in the streets and ran around trying to find the store of designer Mart Visser. Upon meeting with Mart, the designer was instantly turned off after seeing that she had been running.

"My problem is that when someone gets in and she already has a sweaty back because all of my expensive clothes are gonna be sweaty then," Mart said. "I don't think that's a good thing to start with."


While admitting that her runway walk was "okay," Mart said that Elina was "playing a model, but she isn't a model."

Elina was also criticized at a later "go-see" with designer Malies Dekkers for her visible tattoos and told that they would distract attention away from the clothing.

Marjorie struggled to find her bearings in the streets of Amsterdam and was lost for much of the challenge time. After going on two disappointing "go-sees," she decided to return to Touch Models to make sure she didn't get back too late.

"At least I wont be disqualified, hopefully other people will," Marjorie said.

While Marjorie, Elina, Analeigh, and  Samantha, an 18-year-old student athlete from Woodland Hills, CA, all finished up their "go-sees" and returned to the modeling agency before 5PM, McKey lost track of time and was disqualified from the challenge after arriving five minutes late.


"It's an extreme hit on my confidence that I am the girl who's never late and I was late when I promised myself I wouldn't be," said McKey after her disqualification.

Frederick added insult to injury when he told McKey that all of the clients she had visited had expressed a desire to work with her and that she would have had a pretty strong chance to win the challenge.

However, with McKey not eligible, Frederick revealed that Analeigh had won the challenge and its prize: $18,000 worth of merchandise from the five designers the girls had visited.

"I feel incredible," Analeigh said after her win. "I'm not just a pretty girl you know? I can book high fashion jobs."

Once they got back at the apartment, the other girls looked on jealously at Analeigh's prize and Marjorie spoke to Analeigh about her worries that her performance in the "go-sees" challenge could lead to her elimination. Analeigh tried to comfort her by saying that only she and McKey hadn't been in the competition's bottom two so far and that the other girls had regarded her as serious competition.


"I wish I could just shake her, like 'Frickin Marjorie you're amazing, you're beautiful. Just get it into your head, you make a great model!'" a frustrated Analeigh said after talking to her.

The following day, the girls met with photo shoot director Jay Manuel, who revealed that America's Next Top Model host Tyra Banks would be the photographer for their upcoming shoot. They also learned that the shoot would consist of them being shot twice: once with them wearing no makeup and in street clothes, and then a second time after high fashion makeup had been applied and more expressive clothing had been put on.

Both Jay and Tyra were impressed with Samantha's photo shoot, but felt that her pictures had gotten better once she put on makeup and expressive clothing.

"I think Samantha comes alive with makeup and theatrics," Tyra said.

Upon seeing Marjorie come onto the set, Jay immediately noticed that she was intimidated because Tyra was the photographer. However, after struggling when being photographed without makeup, Tyra felt that she "did a little better" in her glamour shot and had "pulled off" her look while wearing makeup.

Elina continued to struggle with letting go of her emotions, with Jay noticing that she would initially pose well, but then would ruin the shot by making her body tense before almost every shot was about to be taken


"What a little stiff girl," Tyra commented after her shoot with Elina.

That night, Elina stated that she felt "good" about the upcoming panel and felt that she had shown Tyra her best effort during the photo shoot.

"If that's not enough by now I don't know really what else I can do, besides rip my hair out and scream at her, so I think I'm good," she added.

During the next day's judging panel, judge Nigel Barker said he was overly impressed with the makeup-free shot of Samantha and her photo had shown such great body language that it could have been used as a Calvin Klein ad.

"I've got to say, this is my favorite picture of you to date," he added.

"You made Tyra so excited while she was shooting you, and that's what you want," added Jay.


While judges were not impressed with Analeigh's makeup-free shot, Nigel called her glamour shot "fantastic."

"Maybe makeup is for you girl," added judge Pauline Porizkova.

Tyra criticized Marjorie for her makeup-free shot, saying that she had chosen to submit a test shot her because her film had been so sub-par because of her nerves.

However, Tyra and Nigel said that they were more impressed with Marjorie's shot using makeup.

"This girl is strong, this girl is sharp, this girl is cunning," Tyra said of the Marjorie's picture with makeup. "This girl in front of us is weak and timid and unsure. We need to figure out how to get this girl into a natural picture and how to get her in front of us too."

Judges again criticized Elina for being too "tight" during her shoot. Tyra admitted to being shocked after learning that she was only 18-years-old and had her take down her hair and scream to try and loosen her up.


Prior to seeing her photo, Tyra revealed that given all four of the designers she visited had liked her, McKey would have indeed have won the "go-sees" challenge if she hadn't been disqualified. However, she received better news when judges were highly complimentary of her photos, with Tyra complimenting the range of poses that she had learned since entering the competition.

After deliberating with the other judges, Tyra revealed that Samantha's shots had been chosen as the week's best.

She then proceeded to call out photos for McKey and Analeigh, leaving Marjorie and Elina as the week's bottom two girls.

After bringing the two forward, Tyra noted that both girls suffered from the same problem of having a great deal of potential, but holding themselves back in some way.

"Elina you have this face that doesn't come by often. You have a confidence that is absolutely beautiful,
and you photograph exquisitely," Tyra told her. "But you hold on, you hold on with all of your might and
that diminishes your beauty."

"Marjorie, so exquisite, has all the potential and makings of a Top Model," Tyra said as she turned her attention to Marjorie. "But you stand in your way with our nerves. When you went out and about on your 'go sees,' you lost it."


"So who stays?" Tyra asked before revealing that Elina had been eliminated from the competition.

"Sometimes not being in control is the most beautiful thing in the world," Tyra told Elina before she left to pack her bags at the girls' apartment.

America's Next Top Model's next episode will air Wednesday, November 12 at 8PM ET/PT on The CW.






About The Author: John Bracchitta