With just six women remaining on ABC's "The Bachelor," Stephanie Wilhite knew she had to step up her game.

Except she didn't — and she didn't get a coveted rose on Monday's show.

"It just came down to the fact that I'm a little more shy and a little more reserved than the other girls," said Wilhite, a 23-year-old project manager at a marketing company in Overland Park, Kan. "I held back a little. I don't think that was necessarily a good thing, obviously. I was rejected."

Wilhite was one of two women — Tina Wu was the other — eliminated on Monday's show.

"I sort of predicted that I was going to be going home — and so was Tina," Wilhite said during a conference call with reporters last week. "I wasn't really surprised."

The remaining women — Tessa Horst, Danielle Imwalle, Bevin Powers and Amber Alchalabi — will take Pearl Harbor-based doctor Lt. Andy Baldwin to their hometowns in tomorrow's episode. The final three visit Hawai'i.

Wilhite, nicknamed "Stephanie Kansas" on the show, badly wanted Baldwin to visit her hometown, hoping that would strengthen their connection.

"I'm getting all kinds of jokes now from people, saying, 'You were so close! He almost came to Overland Park!' " Wilhite said. "Everyone would have been really excited to meet him and I know everybody would have just fallen in love with him."

She admits to having feelings for the naval doctor, who she said is "funny" and "engaging."

Those feelings may have been why she clammed up in the end.

"At first I think I wasn't so closed off because there wasn't as much at stake," she said. "But once I started developing feelings for him, I wanted to see him more, I got nervous and a little more closed off. I think we did have a connection developing, but I couldn't bring it to the next level."

A huge fan of ABC's "The Bachelor," Wilhite applied to be on the show after seeing Baldwin in last season's finale.

She was instantly smitten.

"I almost dropped dead," she said, laughing. "I thought he was perfect. I happened to be single at the time, so I decided what better time to do it than now."

Living with other women vying for Baldwin's affections wasn't that bad, she said. She compared it to living in a sorority — except for having the same love interest.

"It was actually a lot of fun," she said. "We'd help each other get ready for dates and cook dinner together.

"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had," she added. "It's so unique and very memorable."

Now back at home, Wilhite gets spotted at restaurants, in bars and at the gym.

She's hoping her life returns to normal once the show ends this month.

"I just want to go on with my life as usual," she said.

Wilhite predicts Horst, the 26-year-old social worker from San Francisco who scored a special one-on-one date with Baldwin and $1 million worth of jewelry in last week's show, will be the last woman standing.

"I really feel like Tessa has a very strong connection with Andy," she said. "They seem to hit it off and always be laughing with each other ... I really feel like it's going to be Tessa that he proposes to. Just catching his slight little glances he gives her and seeing how much fun they have together. It's more him chasing her on the show, and I think that says a lot ... I think it's going to be Tessa and Andy."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.