Olivia Dunne and her Lady Tigers colleagues enjoyed a successful weekend.
The 21-year-old LSU gymnast and social media phenomenon stunned in a stunning floor performance Friday, helping the Tigers to their highest score in team history, 198.475-196.200 over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Dunne, who had missed two straight matches, replaced teammate KJ Johnson in the floor lineup and scored 9.875, tying her season high.
“Unbelievable what she can do!” a fan wrote on YouTube, where an ESPN video of her floor routine from Friday has over 300,000 views.
Another supporter commented, “That’s absolute perfection there.”
Although LSU’s final score astounded many, head coach Jay Clark, who earned his 100th career victory on Friday, stressed that his focus is on the whole effort.
“We got better. That is what this week was about. According to the team’s website, Clark stated that the emphasis and major goal was to achieve a good, comprehensive performance.
“I understand everyone wants to talk about the score tonight, which is terrific. I am not concerned with whether we receive a low or high score. It’s about our performance. We performed our job tonight, and we can repeat it somewhere else. For us, it’s about focusing on the next step and doing things one at a time.”
The Tigers are now 5-2 overall and will travel to Georgia next Friday.
In an interview with Elle this summer, Dunne, a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model with a NIL worth of $3.5 million, discussed appreciating the present as she headed into her senior season.
“I know it’s coming to an end, so I’m trying to take in every single last memory I can, but I’m also excited to see what the future holds,” she told me.
