 "Photo: Courtesy of SeacoastSmiles.com")
It's not often that you get to see girls wearing bikinis in the middle of February.
Then again, swimsuits were just a part of the action as the seven finalists in the second annual Miss University scholarship competition took the stage this past Saturday at the Murkland Hall auditorium.
The $600 scholarship for the winner of the Miss University title was just a fraction of the $1,800 in award money that was up for grabs.
The contest, open to full-time female students and employees between the ages of 17 and 24 at any of the University System of New Hampshire institutes, featured five UNH students along with a contestant from Keene State College and another from Plymouth State University.
After five rounds of competition, including an off-stage interview prior to Saturday's event, UNH senior Erika Lehman was crowned Miss University 2007.
"I was just psyched," said Lehman, who did not place in last year's inaugural pageant despite winning both the swimsuit and interview competitions.
"I've worked really hard this year at perfecting my talent and my interview skills," she said, beginning to smile. "And my dress is a lot prettier."
Lehman was crowned by last year's Miss University, Alicia Rossman.
Rossman, a sophomore resident assistant in Christiansen Hall, is also the current Miss Stratham Fair.
"I'm really glad that I got to crown Erika," said Rossman.
"Ever since I started competing, she's always been there," Lehman said about her predecessor. "I think it's great that she crowned me because she's been such a great friend."
The contest was hosted for the second straight year by local country radio personality Mark Ericson from WOKQ in Portsmouth.
Ericson said he tries to take these competitions very seriously. "Even though it is still at a small level, this is a stepping stone for some of these girls."
Lehman is a prime example. Last year's Miss University contest was her first of any kind.
"I just walked out of it really liking it," she said, having won close to $3,000 in scholarships in just over a year.
Elia Kopreski, UNH alum from the class of 2003, was the director of this year's competition. Over her four years at UNH, she earned over $10,000 in scholarships from a number of competitions, including a Miss America Community Service Scholarship Award in 2002.
According to Kopreski, the total amount of money available for scholarships increased by $700 from last year to this year.
Ericson was encouraged by this growth. "It is good to see that all of the sponsors and volunteers are very cognizant of the fact that this is still a scholarship-based competition," he said.
In addition, a move from the Media Center in the MUB - last year's venue - to the auditorium in Murkland, tripled the maximum capacity of the event. An increase in attendance from just over 50 spectators last year to an estimated 150 this year is also an early sign of growth in this young program.
Kopreski wants to develop the program even more in the coming years.
"We are hoping to find a student organization to sponsor us, so that we can get a bigger room in the MUB," she said. "And it would be a more centralized location."
An earlier date, possibly in September, could be in the works for next year, said Kopreski, in hopes that more women would be able to compete when classes aren't quite as grueling.
Miss University finalists Alysia Brooks and Ashley May White, both juniors at UNH, were the first and second runners-up respectively. Brooks and White will compete this weekend in the Miss Granite State invitational pageant.
The winner of the Miss Granite State crown will join Erika Lehman, Alicia Rossman, and 15 other local title holders in Derry on April 28 at the 61st annual Miss New Hampshire Scholarship Program for a chance to compete in the 2007 Miss America Pageant.
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