Rejected ‘Bachelor’ contestant sees a match, but not with her

Nine women remain for Dr. Andy Baldwin to choose from as he flies to Lake Tahoe with his dwindling harem in episode three of "Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman" tonight at 8:30 on KITV/ABC.

Last week, the world wept as sorority recruiter Peyton Wright pulled the short straw on her two-on-one date with Andy and Tessa, and she found herself alone and tearful on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

"He had chosen her over me, and that's the way they left," Wright said matter-of-factly. "It wasn't the most ideal situation ... but it was part of the date."

Though she described the circumstances as "very emotional," Wright likes Tessa and believes "she's definitely the one" for Baldwin, which made the rejection a little easier to take.

In a conference call with reporters late last week, the 24-year-old from Dallas explained why she decided to participate in the show.

"I've watched every season that's been on," she said. "We thought that Andy was a hot man and that he looked like he had a lot going for him, so I decided to audition. He's very outgoing, and I really admire all the work that he's done. That's why I wanted to be with him. But I made sure that I was going to be true to myself and not do anything I wouldn't ordinarily do."

Even so, she said watching him with other women moments after they had shared what she believed was an intimate moment proved disconcerting.

"You tend to forget what the other women are there for," she said. But then you realize you weren't the only one he was thinking about.

Still, she gave Baldwin -- a U.S. Navy diver stationed at Pearl Harbor -- high marks, and hopes the show leads to a happy ending.

"I think Andy is an amazing person," she said. "He's worked so hard to get where he is. I really hope to see a wedding come out of this one. I've heard he's engaged."