Ashley Underwood

Ashley Underwood (born February 8, 1985) is an American women's basketball player and pageant contestant from Benton, Maine who competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2009. In 2011, she appeared on Survivor: Redemption Island.

Early life

Underwood was born in Benton, Maine and grew up on her family's strawberry farm. She had a competitive early life, she went on to star in basketball at Cony High School in Augusta, Maine, where she was a finalist for 2003 Miss Maine Basketball award, a two-time All-State honoree, and two-time Eastern Maine All-Tournament Team selection. She led Cony to the Class A Eastern Maine title in 2002 and Eastern Maine runner-up in 2000, 2001, and 2003.

Underwood received a full-ride basketball scholarship to the University of Maine. After playing in a reserve role her freshman and sophomore year, she moved into the starting line-up by her junior year and became one of the Black Bears' top players. During her senior season, she led the team in scoring (15.2ppg) while finishing third in the American East Conference in scoring, earning all-conference honors in the process. She closed out her career with 1,195 points, ranking her in the Top 10 all-time scorers for the Black Bear woman's basketball program.

After graduating in 2007 with a degree in nursing, Underwood signed a professional basketball contract to play in Geneva, Switzerland. However, after playing in Europe for a season, she returned to her state of Maine and decided to enter the Miss Maine USA contest, her first pageant. On November 22, 2008, she was crowned Miss Maine USA 2009 by outgoing titleholder, Kaetlin Parent. Underwood represented Maine in the nationally televised Miss USA 2009 pageant which was broadcast live from the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on April 19, 2009. She was featured prominently during the swimsuit portion of the competition but did not advance to the semifinals.

Underwood formerly worked as a school nurse in MSAD 49 system, serving grades K-12. She is married to former UMAINE basketball star Chris Markwood.

Survivor: Redemption Island

In 2011, Underwood appeared on the twenty-second installment of Survivor. She originated on the original Ometepe tribe and stayed on that tribe until the merge. Since the beginning of the game, Underwood was part of a majority alliance with Andrea Boehlke, Grant Mattos, Natalie Tenerelli, Phillip Sheppard, and Rob Mariano. In Episode 13, Rob Mariano and Grant plotted to oust Underwood. However, Underwood won the individual immunity challenge and Grant was sent to Redemption Island. She won the Final Five Immunity challenge, but lost the last one and was voted out 3-1, becoming the final juror. She was one of eight jurors who voted for Rob Mariano to win the game.

References and external links

• Ashley Underwood Online (official web site & blog)
• Ashley Underwood biography for Survivor: Redemption Island at CBS.com