How does it feel like meeting your idol whom you used to look for in childhood? Feels awesome right? The same is the case with LSU sensation Olivia Dunne at the moment. Just in a few hours, NCAA Women’s gymnastics semi-finals will kick off at 4:30 pm. Set to start on April 18 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, the event brought a memory back for Olivia Dunne.

It is her meeting with legendary gymnast Aly Raisman as a child in 2012. Just before going into the highly anticipated semifinals, she edited a post she made to mark that occasion on her Instagram handle. But that moment was recreated when Olivia got to meet Raisman again in the NCAA Championships venue.

The present occasion was posted by Aly Raisman as she took to her Instagram and added a queue of stories showcasing herself standing with Olivia and the group wearing NCAA Leos. On the other hand, with all excitement, Olivia captioned her post, “I can’t believe I touched Aly Raisman!!!!!”. The emotion is clearly visible. But amid that, how the upcoming fierce battle is going to pan out for LSU?

The eight teams competing for a spot in the NCAA Finals are LSU, Oklahoma, Utah, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, California and Stanford. No. 2 LSU will face No. 3 California, No. 12 Arkansas, and Stanford in the first session of the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday. The second semifinal session will see No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Utah and No. 8 Alabama competing.

Before the high voltage clash, LSU coach Jay Clark has all praises for his team as he said, “I’m proud of our group. We’re one step closer to where we’re trying to go and we’re ready to keep the train rolling. This team has done a good job of staying present and doing it for each other. That’s been a huge key for our success this year and we just want to continue to stay true to ourselves.” Let us see how can we catch the action.

How to watch it live?

Fans excited to watch the powerhouses of the NCAA Gymnastics semifinals get down to business can tune in to ESPN2 for nationally televised action. Both the semifinals will be telecast there. To amp up the excitement factor, Olivia Dunne’s idol Three-time Olympic champion Aly Raisman will be commentating alongside Olympian John Roethlisberger and ESPN TV reporter Taylor Davis.

Not only will fans get a telecast of both the semifinals on ESPN, but the channel will also provide 15 live streams on ESPN+ including apparatus streams and a quad-box option. Samantha Peszek and Bridget Sloan will cover the vault and beam events, while Anastasia Webb and Kennedy Baker keep viewers up to speed on the bars and floor. Just more hours and you’ll see them on your screens. How’s the excitement going? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!