Exactly a week later, the LSU Tigers gymnastics team came back in the NCAA contest. Last week, the Tigers fought against Arkansas on the mat in the away match. The result, however, didn’t go as expected. The visitors had to taste a thrashing defeat from the Razorbacks. Super seniors like Olivia Dunne tried their best though. The social media star, in fact, claimed 9.70 in the floor exercise event. Still, the defeat chased and caught the Tigers. But was that a reason for coach Jay Clark to take an ultimate decision on January 31? 

Well, on January 31, Olivia Dunne didn’t feature on the Tigers’ floor exercise lineup. Rather, the six names that took the floor against Missouri were Sierra Ballard, Chase Brock, Kailin Chio, Amari Drayton, Aleah Finnegan, and Haleigh Bryant. And all these names paid the price of the coach’s trust magnificently. How? Have a look at their scores. 

The floor exercise was slated to be rotation 4 for the Tigers. A critical one? On the other hand, Missouri played a smart game in the rotation by entering their best performer this season in her trademark event. How? Mizzou had Helen Hu in the balance beam routine in rotation 4. This season, Hu claimed the glory of being the first gymnast to land a perfect 10. Her superb score came in the balance beam routine on January 17 against Oklahoma. However, Mizzou fans remained hopeful to see another top-notch performance from her against the defending national champion program. Additionally, Olivia Dunne’s absence from the lineup strengthened their hope. Notably, on Friday, Livvy was replaced by another super senior, Sierra Ballard, in the lineup. So? What about the result?

Sierra Ballard kicked off the event as she had been expected to do. She marked 9.850 in her turn on the floor exercise. Meanwhile, the other Tigers kept on scoring big. Such as? Chase Brock claimed 9.875. Kailin Chio, the newcomer in the mix, scored 9.900. Amari Drayton joined her with the same number. But Aleah Finnegan lagged and the Olympian had to remain satisfied with 9.750. In the meantime, pressure built up on LSU Gymnastics. Their opponent, Mizzou, continued to amass big numbers, and they had Helen Hu in the anchor leg to save the event.

Well, the Tigers fielded the best one against the flamboyant Hu. The defending NCAA all-around champion, Haleigh Bryant, took the responsibility in the anchor leg for the Tigers. She stood up to the expectations, scoring 9.950. But did Hu go past her in the balance beam routine? Yes. Her blitzkrieg continued as she marked 9.975 in the event. 

But the near-perfect score couldn’t give the guest an edge. Mizzou lost the event by a scoreline of 49.325-49.475. Meanwhile, the score reflected on the final count. The host, LSU Gymnastics, won the contest (198.000-197.175) in Week 5, announcing its return to the winning path. And what about Olivia Dunne? Did she get any messages on Friday? 

Olivia Dunne’s absence on the mat witnesses a harsh truth about the match 

On January 26 this year, Olivia Dunne shook the college gymnastics realm with her unambiguous statements posted on X. In her long post, the 22-year-old revealed her take on the less popular women’s gymnastics at the college level. She blamed the newly introduced scoring policy in the NCAA gymnastics, hurting the entire cause. 

“I am sitting here watching NCAA gymnastics, and the empty seats are concerning. I care deeply about the growth in women’s sports, especially in the NCAA,” Livvy wrote in X. In the same post, she suggested a remedy. It went on, “If you want fans to enjoy the sport and increase viewership, you have to look at what makes the crowds go crazy! People understand what a perfect 10 is and want people who do things that look great to be rewarded.” Significantly, the updated scoring and judging guidelines have reduced the frequent instances of perfect 10s this season. According to Dunne, an increase in perfect scores during the matches could potentially draw in more spectators. However, there is a visual that contradicts her assertion.

This season, any gymnast from the LSU Tigers has yet to score a perfect 10. Additionally, on Friday, there was no perfect 10 from them. Nor did the Mizzou gymnasts have it. In fact, after January 17, they have yet to see another full score on the individuals’ list. Still, on Friday, PMAC, LSU’s backyard, had a crowd of 13,082 fans to enjoy the match. So the absence of perfect scores didn’t impact the headcount, right? This may be a stark reality for Olivia Dunne!