Olivia Dunne had over 13.5 million fans buzzing when she announced her return to college gymnastics. Livvy decided to make good use of one year of eligibility and attempt to keep the lighting in the bottle after LSU’s 2024 NCAA Championship triumph. Now that the 2025 NCAA preseason is upon us, the LSU squad, including Livvy, is ready to take on a new season.

The 22-year-old kicked off the excitement for the upcoming season with a social media post. “Y’all better BE THERE!” Livvy Dunne posted on TikTok with a video illustrating how she feels stepping into the final season of her college gymnastics career. “How life feels knowing meet szn is starting,” Dunne posted in the caption as she appeared in a purple leotard on camera.

Judging by the dance moves she busted out, it’s safe to assume the gymnastics icon is excited and elated for 2025. You could say the defending NCAA champion was dancing with joy. However, it’s not been sunshine and rainbows for Olivia Dunne and the LSU Tigers. That’s because Livvy and other Lady Tigers didn’t do so well at the annual Gymnastics 101 event.

LSU Gymnastics coach Jay Clark wasn’t impressed with the performance of his team. Clark shared his unfiltered views on the exhibition at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. “Looked really ready, others looked scared and timid… It’s just kind of a mixed bag. But you know, at the end of the day, I told them from the jump we’re just trying to get a baseline today,” said Clark.

While the coach praised the freshman Kayin Chio, Olivia Dunne and other seniors didn’t capture his attention. In the event which was titled ‘Protect the Crown’, Clark expressed everyone needs to step up to truly protect their NCAA crown in 2025. However, for now, Livvy and even the others are just excited to be getting back in their groove.

Dunne shared another video where many other gymnasts joined in to dance on camera. “LSU gym got da moves,” Dunne posted in the caption. So what’s in store for the LSU Tigers in 2025?

A closer look at Olivia Dunne and Co.’s schedule

Thankfully, the eager defending champions don’t have to wait too long to dive into the action. LSU’s regular season starts on home ground at Baton Rouge against Iowa on Jan 3. The Tigers will then take a trip to the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, before returning to Baton Rouge to take on the Florida Gators in January. And then it’s packed schedule all the way to the NCAA Championships in April.

So ultimately, Olivia Dunne doesn’t have that much time left to get in the groove and produce results on the mat. However, the silver lining for Livvy is that unlike last year she isn’t dealing with recurring injuries. Last year, the gymnast suffered from recurring bouts of shin splints which hindered her practice and competitive goals right until the last moment.

However, Dunne rested throughout the 2024 off-season and mostly stayed away from the gym, giving her body time to recover. Yet, that doesn’t mean it’s made the upcoming season any easier. “It’s just hard. Coming back from such a crazy summer and then having to do these things, its such an awakening…” the 22-year-old said in September.

For now, it may be too early to tell how LSU will fair in the upcoming season. Only time will tell if the defending champions will retain their crown. So what do you believe? Can Olivia Dunne lead LSU to another historic NCAA title? Tell us in the comments.