So happy to have my family’s support and love.
Anxious before the start of the Finals this morning.
Interview for WLKY.
The Finals started this morning at 10:00 a.m. with 40 spellers. Rounds 4-7 were tough and the words got progressively harder. At the end of Round 7, 15 spellers remained and will continue to spell tonight in the Championship Finals. I missed my Round 6 word, “piatti,” the Italian word for cymbals. My final ranking this year is 18 – a slight improvement over last year’s 22nd.
The best part of this morning was sitting near some AWESOME people who made me smile and feel more relaxed on stage. Thank you Siyona, Shourav, Jashun, Alex, and Naysa.
Good luck to all of the remaining Finalists!
the word explorer 
Winners are the folks who study and work hard every day even when some days they might rather just not. You are a true winner Tara! We are so impressed with your dedication and bravery up on stage. Caroline says “You rock in my eyes Tara!!”
You were brilliant, Tara! We were watching. LCA is very proud of your accomplishments–your knowledge, your perseverance, and your poise. Nicely done.
We are all so proud of you, Tara!
Dear Tara, I know it is still hard for you given your dedication to this program. Regardless of the outcome today, YOU are a CHAMPION in our hearts. You did what is humanly possible. We know in our heart of hearts how much work you put in during all these years. Game is NOT over yet. You have one more year to come back with vengeance, we sure know you will. Remember we are so proud of you, wish you all the luck in this world to press on for one last chance. You are a good sport too, to wish the Finalists good luck. The Dayaprema family
I’m proud of you, Tara, for getting as far as you did. I’m a pretty good speller, but you are W-A-Y beyond me!
You go, Girl!!!!
Adelle Van Daalen
your Amama’s friend in Fiddlesticks
Thanks once again for sharing your adventure with us – we are always impressed by your performance and the hard work it reflects!