SEC Gymnastics Plagued By Grueling Losses Despite Top Spot, Olivia Dunne’s Team Forced To Bench Another Rising Star Ahead Of NCAA Gymnastics Meet

With LSU’s season-opening match and five other SEC gymnastics team performances in the 2024 season, this has been a hectic week. Even though the season has only been underway for a week, LSU’s injuries have already made headlines! And Olivia Dunne isn’t the only one who feels the pain since she missed most of the 2022-23 season due to an ankle injury.

Now, the news that another senior on the squad has been benched comes with a humorous note that was shared online by an anonymous account. Now as the gymnastics meet proceeds, the LSU Tigers team have much more to worry about on the mats than just their scoreboard positions.

Olivia Dunne’s teammate injured at a crucial time

A screenshot of 17-year-old Kailin Chio, a former member of the USA national gymnastics team, surfaced in a tweet posted by @justsomegymfan on X. With walking sticks, Chio posted a photo in front of a lift mirror with the remark, “#recovering can’t wait to continue to cheer on my girls.”

“Injuries before your freshman year as a Tiger really are a prerequisite to your acquisition onto the team aren’t they,” read the caption of the repost.

https://x.com/justsomegymfan/status/1745517214160056386

In 2022, Chio became a senior, she did not, however, compete through the season because of her injury. She made a verbal commitment in November to compete for the LSU Tigers gymnastics team starting in the 2024–25 season.

As LSU defeated Ohio State, fifth-year senior Alyona Shchennikova presumably sustained a season-ending Achilles tendon injury during practice early last week. The Tigers began the season at No. 2 in the preseason rankings which changed to fifth among the teams who participated nationally this past weekend. Now, the case is similar to that of Olivia Dunne who spent most of last NCAA Championships cheering from the stands.

Olivia Dunne’s last season highlights

Dunne made her season debut on February 24 against Alabama last year, scoring a 9.825 on the uneven bars, after missing a significant portion of the 2022–23 season due to a variety of injuries, including two ruptured labrums, a torn bicep, and her injured knee. She was kept off the squad to allow her to rest and return to full strength, even though she was supporting her teammates at every LSU match.

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Dunne appears to be on the mend following her injury and was back to practice with her squad. Dunne’s injury condition was also updated by LSU Coach Jay Clarke, who stated that she was out for many more weeks due to a leg flare-up that occurred following the match against Arkansas previous year.

It concluded with LSU finishing fourth in the NCAA Championship. Now, Dunne is back in competition this year and helping her team secure their first Championship title ever.

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