Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, crowned Miss America 2014

A Miss New York has been crowned Miss America for the second year in a row. Nina Davuluri was announced as the 2014 winner at Atlantic City N.J.’s Boardwalk Hall Sunday evening.

After being reduced to five finalists, the pageant announced Miss New York as the winner at 11 p.m. She won a $50,000 scholarship along with the title. Miss California was the first runner upper.

Davuluri, who is 24 years old, is the first Indian-American Miss New York. She performed a Bollywood style dance as her talent despite being discouraged to do it.

“They told her she’d never win — too foreign. But she did it anyway, and she won,” said her personal trainer, Tia Falcone, according to The NY Post.

The crown was passed to Davuluri by Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagen from New York. The 2013 pageant was held in January 2013 in Las Vegas, according to SFGate.
Despite having a shortened reign of eight months, Hagen was thankful for the opportunity to serve as Miss America 2013 and ready to pass on the crown to Davuluri.

Congratulations to Davuluri, Miss New York, for her success. Falcone summed it up, “Nina is probably more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside.”