The queens in purple and gold are back on their favorite mats! For the first time since winning the national title in April, the LSU Tigers swung to perfection inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the annual Gymnastics 101. Featuring fifth-year returnee, Olivia Dunne and her squad, it was a sight nobody would have wanted to miss, especially after the team’s standout performance last year. But the coach was far from pleased.

Although the tone for the event was light, to get Olivia Dunne and Co. in gear before the holidays hit, a coach always has his evaluative lenses on. Well, Jay Clark certainly did! And in the post-event press conference, he handed the scorecard! He said, “Some good, some bad. Some people looked really ready, others looked scared and timid.” 

The electronic screen at the Gymnastics 101 event correctly flashed LSU’s motive for the 2025 season: “Protect the Crown.” Its gymnasts took the first step toward that as they performed their top 50 routines at the Gymnastics 101. And while there were no scores that evening, the LSU gymnastics head coach, Jay Clark, presented his own verdict. But something concerned him and he didn’t shy away from telling it.

With freshmen in the line-up as well, you’d expect there to be a few goof-ups! But surprisingly, it was the other way around. Even though there wasn’t any performance pressure (Jay Clark had told the gymnasts that gym 101 was all about getting your feet wet and trying to get a baseline), there were many experienced gymnasts who faltered and the coach naturally found that concerning.

Jay Clark remarked, “Some really good spots, but I saw some things that were also concerning.” He remarked that some of the seniors looked timid while agreeing, “And that’s concerning as a coach. I don’t want that to happen.” Calling the night a mixed bag, Coach Clark also mentioned that he “Saw the freshman seem to have a little more poise than some of our more experienced people and so we got to get that ironed out.”

Notably, fifth-year seniors, Olivia Dunne, and Haleigh Bryant explored all the apparatuses, except the vault. However, the latter suffered a fall on the beam, making it look like an off night when the seniors did not match the expectations. (although LSU Gym IG handle had the better reel to post) But this can hardly discount the fact that LSU freshers this year have started to prove their mettle right from the start!

As for context, in just his fourth season as head coach, Jay Clark brought home the program’s first NCAA title to Baton Rouge. After finishing first in the NCAA Semifinals, the Tigers secured their spot in the finals for the 10th time in school history and the second year in a row under Clark. The Tigers turned in a clutch performance on the beam in the final rotation to claim the title with a 198.2250 in the Final Four, defeating California (197.8500), Utah (197.8000), and Florida (197.4375). With the win, LSU became just the eighth program in NCAA history to win the women’s gymnastics championship.

Why this performance was in contrast to Olivia Dunne and her coach’s recent mentions

Earlier this month, the LSU Tigers viral queen took to TikTok and shared how much she has grown as a gymnast ever since her freshman year. She shared a series of clips captioning “Freshman year vs 5th year senior” to establish the upgrades in her forms over the span. Clearly, while Olivia lived to her expectations with flawless front and double tucks, a few of her teammates at Gymnasts 101 didn’t hold true to those standards.

Take Haleigh Bryant. The 5th year senior enjoyed a good start with Double front half  but it turned tad bit sore by the final routine of the night. She lost her grip and balance on the beam and that left her coach turning into a critic.

Coming to the coach who has helped Olivia navigate through NIL opportunities, his recent comments otherwise held a lot of truth, did not receive complete justice. “I hoped the lessons that we learned from last year when we made the finals would help us,” Clark said. “Honor one another with their actions, stay unselfish, not just when they had to due to adversity, but when things were going well. And they did. The team set aside personal ambitions and trusted the coaches. As a coach, you have to have a good relationship with your athletes, you need to communicate well; I feel we did that,” Clark said back then. He was also named the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Outstanding Collegiate Coach for Louisiana. So a lot is at stake for both LSU and Clark this year.

LSU juniors set to join Olivia Dunne’s league

LSU Gymnastics is probably entering the 2025 season with their best squad so far. Apart from Olympic champion Hezly Rivera who joined the side in September, they have pros like Olivia Dunne and Haleigh Bryant, to lead the way with their expertise. And then, there’s the list of talented newcomers like Zoe Miller, Kailin Chio, Kaliya Lincoln, and Lexi Zeiss who have led Jay Clark to express, “We are very excited about this class! This may be the most balanced group of four we have ever signed.”

And well, the visionary hardly ever goes wrong in his judgment. At the Gymnastics 101 event, Jay Clark particularly highlighted two freshmen- Kailin Chio and Lexi Zeiss, who did an exceptional job. He was particularly impressed by how Chio handled everything as well as how Zeiss coped despite being behind in training.

“Probably the highlight of the night is Kailin Chio, freshman, just in terms of how she handled everything, and I thought Lexi did a good job, too.” Despite going slow with Lexi throughout the fall due to her injury in the ankle, the coach was proud of how she’d level up.

If this night was indicative of what’s about to come, are the juniors in line to overshadow Olivia Dunne and party? Let us know what you think!