By DAVE NICHOLSON
The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA – The one-time captain of King High School’s swim team was named the first runner-up in an international swimsuit competition last night in Las Vegas.

Natalie Pandorf was the only Bay area woman to place in the Miss Hooters International 2007 contest.  Pandorf, born in Daytona Beach and raised in Tampa since she was 11, represented the Hooters on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
“It’s just so wonderful!’ Pandorf said this morning.

The 26-year-old is a model and has appeared on FOX sports network and on MTV, among other appearances. She still works as a server at the Hooters in North Tampa.

Pandorf was in local news for years as a championship swimmer at Tampa’s King High. She started working for Hooters in 2003, and since then her career has blossomed to include modeling, and she has placed in finals of swimsuit competitions sponsored by Hawaiian Tropic.

Pandorf said she has been bombarded with text messages and phone calls since news spread of her finish in last night’s contest.

Another area contestant, Linsey Toole, a 22-year-old Plant City High School graduate, was in her third year in the contest.  Last year, she placed in the top 10, but she did not make the cut this year.

Toole is a lifelong Plant City resident who started working for Hooters as a server in Lakeland. She now does a lot of modeling for the chain.

Breanne Ashley of Newnan, Ga., won the competition and took home $50,000 and other prizes including promotional appearances. Ashley was unavailable for comment but Hooters spokeswoman Alexis Aleshire said she is 22 years old.

About 130 women competed in the contest, which was judged by a panel of celebrities, Aleshire said.

Reporter Dave Nicholson can be reached at (813) 865-4432 or dnicholson@tampatrib.com.

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