Misa and Maiya Tanaka - Amazing Race

Misa Tanaka

Age: 27

Hometown: San Diego, CA

Occupation: Car Buyer

I was born and raised in San Diego, California and have never left. You can't beat the weather and how gorgeous it is! I attended Mira Mesa High school and San Diego State University and graduated with a degree in Marketing in 2007.

My sister and I started playing the game of golf when we were 11 and 12 through Pro Kids Golf Academy. There we learned fundamental life skills, values, and the importance of education through the game of golf. I started our high school girl's golf team with Maiya after playing on the boys team for 3 years.

I currently conduct vehicle appraisals, coordinate on-site auctions and attend regional auto auctions to source inventory. I utilize leadership, decision making and time-management skills in a high pressure competitive environment.

Three words to describe me: Random, passionate and engaging.

My favorite hobbies are traveling, snow boarding, surfing and snorkeling. I love doing anything adventurous. I will try anything once. I'm a kid at heart and can make the best out of anything. I try to find fun in everything I do.

The best thing I have received from participating on the Amazing Race is a chance to spend more time with my sister and the opportunity to give back and make a difference in other people's lives. I am really appreciative to everyone who donates and am blessed to be able to participate in the Reality Rally!

Maiya Tanaka

Maiya began playing golf at the age of 11, picking up the game right away with her natural swing she managed a hole-in-one in her first golf tournament, on the first hole. Maiya started at the local First Tee program, and learned her game through the inner-city non-profit organization she knew as the Pro Kids Golf Academy at Colina Park. There, Maiya was able to learn the fundamentals of golf through the Saturday morning rules classes, free instruction, and unlimited rounds at the 18 hole, par 3 course located in City Heights.

Within her first year, Maiya won many local San Diego events, and qualified for the U.S.G.A. Girls JuniorChampionship at the age of 13, the youngest competitor on the west coast to qualify at the time. Through her display of poise on and off the course, Maiya won the award for Sports Person of the Year from the Pro Kids Golf Academy in 2000. She also won many events there, including the Match Play and Stroke Play Championship.

At Mira Mesa high school, Maiya played on the boys' team her freshman year, since there was no girl's team, and led them as their number one player. Maiya posted a low enough average to qualify for the boys C.I.F. Championship individually that year, but was prevented from playing based on gender. This inspired Maiya and her coach/ teacher Roy VanGrove to start the first girl's golf team at Mira Mesa. Maiya, along with the help of her sister, Misa, started the first girls golf team at the school and lead them as their number one player to C.I.F. and they were even in contention to win their city league. Throughout high school, Maiya helped her teammates build their games and make a name for the program, winning their league conference and making it to the state championships to represent Mira Mesa by her junior and senior years.

Maiya has been selected multiple times for being part of a team that represents San Diego and the United States. In 2001, Maiya traveled to Taiwan for the Trans-Pacific Cup, and the Junior America's Cup travel team, and was invited back in 2002 as well. Maiya was also selected to represent UCLA for the All-Star team that traveled to China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea in 2008.

Maiya was accepted to UCLA and without recruitment from the golf team, had to make a decision: go to her dream school for academics and try to walk on or accept a golf scholarship to another school. With a scoring average at even par, Maiya figured UCLA could eventually use her and the opportunity to walk onto a division one, NCAA championship winning team, would be phenomenal. However, Maiya had to wait until her junior year to be given the opportunity to walk on. She worked hard and although being forced to put her clubs into retirement for two years, got her swing back quickly and represented the Bruins in 6 tournaments, 19 rounds, and posted counting scores toward the teams number just in that first year back. Maiya placed 20th at the Pac 10 Championships and qualified to play in NCAA Regional's and National's, posting a even par first round at Regional's and ended up tied for 65th in the nation at nationals. She continued to perform and helped the team win and place in many events, and UCLA ended up with two 2nd places and a 3rdplace in the entire nation during her years on the team.

Maiya continued to be on the director's honor roll while playing for UCLA and earned many honors such as NCAA All-Central Region Honors, and voted Most Improved Player by her team. She continued to have a wonderful career at UCLA, sharpening and fine-tuning her game while getting prepared for her professional career by playing many of the season events and NCAA tournaments.

Maiya graduated from UCLA with a Sociology Major and a Human Complex Systems Minor in June 2009. She plans to use this degree to someday give back to the golf program, Pro Kids Golf Academy and work with the social aspects that involve the inner-city program. Maiya also loves kids and hopes to teach one day as well.

Maiya has been fortunate enough to also have her swing noticed and landed a commercial in 2009 for Northwestern Mutual. Watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSWw8Il1qlQ or search Youtube for Northwestern Mutual Female Golfer. She was also selected, from hundreds of hopeful auditions, to appear on the upcoming 13th season of Golf Channel's hit reality show The Big Break. The premier is June 21, 2010, 9pm eastern on the Golf Channel.

In 2010, Maiya was practicing and competing in events on the Cal Players Tour, Golden State Tour, Duramed Futures Tour and the Cactus Tour. She made every cut on the Futures Tour, and won a Golden State event.

Maiya has also has experience with golf modeling and appeared in Ashworth's spring line and Ashworth's Volume 6 Yardage Book, created by John Ashworth. Recently, Maiya was selected in a nationwide casting call to appear as the avatar female golfer for the upcoming Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons golf game for the wii and other multimedia, due to release at the end of 2011, or beginning of 2012.

Maiya plan's to continue to put her hard-working, dedicated, and never-give-up personality to the test as she ended up having 5 jobs during the winter to summer 2011. Maiya worked at a sushi bar, ran charity and corporate golf events, was a certified product specialist for Softspikes, promoted products for Bring the Pros, bartended at Carmel Mountain Ranch CC and still continued to love the game of golf and know what her true calling is. She is currently looking for sponsors who can help her pursue this dream to be on the tour.

Maiya will fight and work as hard as she can to reach her ultimate goal to make a name for herself on the LPGA tour and become one of the best in the world.