The reigning champions, LSU, have a USP and that’s their optimism. They’re back on their feet. after being handed the first loss of the NCAA Gymnastics 2025 season. Before they head to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to face the No. #9 team, Missouri, one of them has delivered the final verdict on Olivia Dunne’s statements. Are the Tigers going to go against the tide and still stand by the NIL sensation? Or will they refrain from taking a harsh stance against the officiators?

Well, we now know that Olivia Dunne probably isn’t okay with being silent. The Tigers’ loss to the Razorbacks fueled a huge debate over the scoring system until Livvy herself had to chime in with a stance. She took a call for the sport, not for LSU, saying, “Too many deductions taken at a judge’s discretion feels the same as watching a basketball game that’s constantly interrupted with penalties or a football game with flags on every play. At some point it feels negative and loses the entertainment factor that draws the crowd in.”

Olivia Dunne even remarked that that viewership numbers will only come when the sport delivers what the fans love. And what do the rest of her teammates feel about this statement? Well, in a pre-match LSU conference, ahead of their game with Missouri, the team senior, Chase Brock cleared the air around Livvy’s statement. She said, “I think, really it’s just not our focus right now. Um, Liv’s our teammate, we love her, we support her and so, I think with her tweet, that was just good intention, she just wants to grow the sport. And so we are gonna support her throughout.” 

Clearly, the LSU girls have Olivia Dunne’s back. Moreover, they are core gymnasts who know that Livvy’s got a point. Fans have been bombarding the gymnasts and teams with questions about the scoring system. Here’s what changed. As per the Women’s College Gymnastics Association, this year is slated to be a pilot project, wherein a SCORE Board is now introduced to improve and standardize the scoring system nationally across divisions and events. The result has led to higher scores and the perfect 10 frequency has fallen from 84 and 87 in 2023 and 2024 to a mere 2 now.

But Olivia Dunne considers herself an advocate of the sport. She is a trailblazer and a role model in the NIL space. So why shut down now? Especially since the LSU Tigers have clarified that they are all with her. However, not everybody holds a similar stand. Christina Chauvenet, a commentator and former gymnast called this a wrong argument in many ways. She said, “It’s not the perfect 10 driving the viewership, it’s the athletes.”

Morgan Belvedere, a former Florida gymnast also chimed in saying that perfect 10s have to be earned, not awarded. She held, “The integrity of the sport should not be diminished for the sake of entertainment by giving out fake perfect scores.” Well, the difference in opinions is clear. So perhaps, the Tigers should get their focus back to the game, instead. After all, they need to defend their title and it’s not looking the easiest ride so far.

Where does Olivia Dunne and Co. rank on the NCAA gymnastics 2025 charts?

The first month of the competition is about to get over and here’s how the chart is looking so far for the LSU Tigers. According to the Women’s NCAA gymnastics week three standings 2025, Oklahoma is leading the charts with 197.706. They are followed by a close second and that’s Florida. That’s not even a surprise after they achieved the highest total by any team in the nation so far and shattered the 198 barrier. Let’s not forget how Jordan Chiles made that perfect 10 on the beam look so seamless!

And finally, Olivia Dunne and the purple-gold athletes stand tall in the third spot. We know that’s far from where they want to be. And had they not lost to Arkansas after that poor beam show, they would have been on the top of the table. 197.275 is all they have for now, and that is not good enough. Hopefully, they can secure a landslide victory over Missouri and Olivia Dunne and the rest can keep aside the scoring discrepancies to just put a hearty show on the mats. What do you think? Will that help them stage a comeback or should they go head-on against the problems in the system? Let us know your opinion below!