Evan earns the silver on 'Dancing With The Stars'
Naperville had to settle for silver. Twice.
Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek finished second to Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger in Tuesday night's season finale of "Dancing With The Stars" on ABC.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Sean Lyons of Naperville and his Purdue University dance team finished second in the college dance competition.
Lysacek and partner Anna Trebunskaya had an uphill battle after their freestyle dance the previous evening was trashed by the judges.
They came back gamely Tuesday. The pair drew 28 of a possible 30 points in their final dance.
"Your performance level has enhanced incredibly," said Judge Bruno Tonioli, who noted Lysacek was always a good dancer but learned to do "dashing, sexy, and you can now do charming,"
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba said that while he might not have collected the most judges' points, "you have won the hearts, not only of myself, but I think of everyone here. ... I see a true champion in the way you approached the competition."
Judge Len Goodman added that Lysacek participated in "DWTS" when he was fresh from the Vancouver Olympics and participating in "Stars on Ice" traveling skating show.
"You've been a joy to watch," he said.
"We had a blast," Lysacek said. "We're proud of everything we did here."
But in the end, Scherzinger was too good. She won the second-to-last dance competition and drew another perfect "30" from the judges in her final dance with partner Derek Hough. They collected 115 points to 108 for Lysacek and Trebunskaya during the two-night finale. The public agreed with the judges; their online and text message votes counted for half the outcome.
Also, the Purdue University Latin and Ballroom Dance Team - which included Naperville's Lyons and Tracy Matz, 21, of Des Plaines - finished second in the show's first college dance championship. Students from Utah Valley University won the Baby Mirror Ball trophy.
"Make sure you water that," cracked host Tom Bergeron.
In the first dance of the evening, all three couples chose the Argentine tango.
The judges, who were almost cruel in their assessment of Lysacek's freestyle Monday night, gave him rave reviews this time.
"You danced this tango like a true lady killer," said Tonioli.
Inaba called it "true redemption" for the previous night's performance.
And the sometimes curmudgeonly Goodman gushed that "DWTS" Season 10 "is the most fantastic season ... the highest standards I've ever seen." To Lysacek, he added, "You just did a fantastic job, Evan. Well done."
But again, it was Scherzinger who received the perfect score of 30 points from the judges. Lysacek was second with 28, followed by ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews with 26.
Andrews was eliminated from the competition after that dance, setting up the final dance showdown between Lysacek and Scherzinger.
The judges gave Andrews high marks for making the most progress over the course of the competition.
Andrews, who gained unwanted fame recently from her stalking by a Westmont man who took pictures of her through a peephole in an adjoining hotel room, said the show was therapeutic. "I came here under really crummy circumstances ... I just wanted to get my life back," she said.
To stretch Tuesday show over its three-hour time slot, Monday night's show was repeated. Then, in hours 2 and 3, the eliminated contestants returned for a cameo dance, though Chad Ochocinco was sidelined with a football injury. Even the minimally talented Kate Gosselin won something: She and her partner were given the show's "best fight" award.
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