“I wish I could be out there competing.” Olivia Dunne, LSU’s star gymnast, quite unexpectedly found herself on the sidelines this season. An injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. Yes, she was out there celebrating LSU’s SEC Championship win. And will be there, cheering them on in their NCAA title defense. But that’s not how it was supposed to be. She was meant to be on the mat in these grand finales, as the super senior is in the last leg of her collegiate career. But while that still remains out of the question, Livvy, in the meantime, is at least making sure not to skip her girlfriend duties. And this time, she had a special companion who tagged along!

This Thursday, March 27, Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates arrived in Miami at the LoanDepot Park for their Opening Day game against the Miami Marlins. And Skenes? The sophomore was trusted to make the Opening Day start, and he aced it by striking out seven over 5 1/3 innings. That’s how Olivia Dunne’s man made history. He became the youngest Pirate to have made an opening day start in 35 years! Yes, that’s pretty historic. And guess who was in the stands to witness this moment when Skenes just entered the history books? Yes, if you’re thinking Livvy, think no more. But she was accompanied by a special someone too!

On March 27, Olivia Dunne added a string of Instagram stories from the stands, as she was right there, watching Paul Skenes’ season-opening game. “Hooray for opening day,” she posted, wearing a cap embossed with the initial ‘P, ‘ making sure we know she’s in fangirl mode. She even captured the moment of Paul Skenes’ first strike and captioned it, “first K of the szn.” Well, this is just Livvy being Livvy. Just the regular girlfriend stuff she always does, right? So what’s the big news? Well, wait till you hear this. Olivia Dunne was spotted cheering for Paul with none other than the Olympic gymnastics legend  Aly Raisman in the stands!

Yes, we’re talking about THE Aly Raisman, who is a 2x Olympian and a 3x Olympic gold medalist. She was part of the 2-time Olympic champion USA women’s artistic gymnastics teams, both at the 2012 London Games and in Rio de Janeiro. But today, as she was spotted enjoying the MLB game in Miami, Livvy Dunne was seated right with her in the stands. And no, the LSU star wasn’t going to miss capturing this historic moment. Thus, Livvy did upload a picture with Raisman and another friend in the frame as they enjoyed the view of the field. “Big Paul fans,” Livvy wrote, humorously playing with words!

It looks like Raisman does share a good dynamic with Livvy and Skenes both. Well, we have a hunch because Livvy added another story, perhaps clicked pre-game, which featured Paul Skenes and Aly Raisman. “Too much 🐏 [goat emoji] in one photo,” she wrote, hyping them both! As far as Olivia Dunne and the veteran gymnast are concerned, the two shared a special moment last year. As Raisman made her debut on ESPN, the first game she was there for in this new job was the LSU vs. Kentucky SEC meet. That’s where the two probably would have met. But as for Skenes, this looked like his first time meeting the gymnastics G.O.A.T.

Well, doesn’t look like Aly Raisman is the first from Olivia Dunne’s gymnastics fraternity to be a ‘Paul fan.’ Recently, Dunne’s fellow LSU senior, Haeleigh Bryant, had commented on Paul Skenes’ post, saying, “Go Paul 🔥.”  But at the end of the day, it looks like his biggest fan is his girlfriend. It’s commendable that Olivia Dunne has a fractured knee. Still, that didn’t keep her from attending her beau’s big MLB opening game this season! But what’s actually happening with the injury?

Olivia Dunne’s injury to keep her from LSU’s title defense

Yes, you heard it right. It all started ahead of LSU’s senior night. Oluvia Dunne took to her Instagram and announced, “Hi friends! Unfortunately, I’ve been dealing with an avulsion fracture of my patella and will not be able to compete on senior night.” That extended to the SEC championships. And now, Livvy’s ready to probably miss the last leg of her NCAA career, too. But even from the sidelines, she remained grateful for this LSU season.

After LSU won the SEC title this year, with their best-ever SEC score so far, Livvy commented on her position in the team, “I have a fractured kneecap right now, so I’m on the sidelines cheering, but it’s just been such an amazing time this past year.”  Even if she is presumably not in the playing squad anymore, she is very confident in the Tigers’ team. “Oh my goodness, yes! I feel like we’re just so ready, and the season has been such a gift,” she said.

So clearly, Livvy’s cheerleader mode is on. Both for the LSU Tigers and for Paul Skenes. She’s patiently sitting in the crowd and supporting her loved ones, which is simply incredible. Don’t you think? Let us know!