Heather Kuzmich is not America's next top model.

At least not according to supermodels Twiggy Lawson, Tyra Banks and their fellow judges on the CW Network's ninth season of the reality show "America's Next Top Model."

The confusion and pressures of having to "strut her stuff" in a foreign land proved too much for Heather Kuzmich, 21, of Valparaiso, who was eliminated from Wednesday's final pool of contestants.

Of the original 13 competing women, only four finalists remain.

On Wednesday's show, which was taped months ago, five models tried to find their fashion niche on location overseas amid the chaos of Shanghai's merchant streets.

The contestants were given directions and an allotted amount of time to visit predetermined "designer go-sees," which are tiny fashion designer boutiques in Shanghai.

While the other contestants were able to make it to three and four designers' offices for fittings and modeling demos, Kuzmich became lost and confused and found her way to only one designer appointment and arrived back to the judges' finishing point 40 minutes past the deadline.

The grand prize for this season's "America's Next Top Model: Cycle 9" is a modeling contract with a modeling agency and fashion spreads.

Kuzmich, a 2005 Valparaiso High School graduate and now a student at Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago, was tearful during her departing interview at the show's close.

"I wanted to prove I could do this," she said.

"And I've learned to be more confident and less self-conscious."

Kuzmich struggles with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism that hampers social interaction and ramps up emotional worries.