![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqK5-fKw7lpc-pBgQgEGBUpcBEF0ekXza3xc7cB6cOsRNSZzW4EF9Yw-NFEDZpTDxy3IFxkhHsvjOR9S-whuUpZlCb9MZnhc4pwKWKUhAwypcVp40mCT10yiFL-eFloM9sCdCPrtioaO0/s400/MichelleAliciaJessica.jpg)
Today is Michelle Lombardo's 28th birthday.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LDKw5_hXsGZfI6QWvaBWRxRKzajuTNYDv0G2Lh2rbqg9IveqVzNmvIHYi9Ux_NncNS170yI2_BNhEbWyNWB6KRwE9poite9PCC2ktwOtWArgDulv0hv_Sx5om94FirIZEerm4n6yD44/s400/05_mlombardo_07.jpg)
She won the
Sports Illustrated "Fresh Face" contest, landing her in the 2005 issue (and a lot of scuba gear).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgohd_V9B3dFJED8SGaKY93L9btplQeRZaMzsyDu7AlORQALijno0CFAakcrHQyYGPMvL2odtjjeNn6ecWUgMRCsv0HlNsM2BVIKg-7VnVSFVP-dCxkKO8gSlat8VSxTiDZ3QapM2wXenI/s400/05_mlombardo_04.jpg)
Of course, another contest winner made her debut in 2005, this one as the result of a reality show, "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search." That girl was Alicia Hall.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVwgiCvblmFdQdBvX3B4auizgUuRi-jdOO3xBYPbeXAGDfnB6wHt5-5mO59fA9TRz9o973Z9z4jJZxvu5dIK0rqC198K2nhCdEqdOI6C8fUtd4cUl1CEhtdR5uEQGJXu426N1Qbd8I61c/s400/05_ahall_05.jpg)
(Though I was heartily rooting for the runner-up, Shannon Hughes.)
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Both Michelle and Alicia ended up as one-hit wonders, never to appear in the magazine's pages again. Is there a swimsuit issue contest curse?
If, a year and a half from now, Jessica Perez fails to appear in the 2013 issue, we'll know something supernatural is afoot.