“Underscored the ENTIRE Night”: Olivia Dunne and LSU Tigers’ Victory Sparks Debate on Fairness of NCAA Scoring System

On January 19, the LSU Tigers went head-to-head with the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC opener at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. While it earned them a season-best total score of 198.125, their triumph was dampened by a controversy that surrounded Olivia Dunne and the Tiger’s victory. Disgruntled fans expressed dissatisfaction with the judging decisions, raising questions about the fairness and accuracy of the NCAA scoring system assigned to the gymnasts.

Recently, Gymnastics Now shared a post on Instagram featuring the controversy centered around the judging of performances. Haleigh Bryant representing LSU delivered a stellar performance, earning a nearly perfect score of 9.975 on the vault and a perfect 10 on the bars. While, Arianna Patterson, representing Kentucky, made her entrance into the competition a rotation later, putting her vault skills on full display and earning a commendable score of 9.925.

The post was captioned, “🤨🧐🤔➡️ Haleigh Bryant (LSU) went 9.975 (means a 10 from one judge) for her front pike half. ➡️ Arianna Patterson (Kentucky) goes 9.925 for the same vault a rotation later. Did the judges get it right? Sound off ⬇️.”

Despite her noteworthy achievement, fans expressed skepticism and raised questions about the judging decision in the timing of Bryant’s routine.

Fans unleash frustrations over judging inconsistencies

A frustrated observer pointed out inconsistencies and noted the unfair advantage awarded to the LSU team. The fan drew upon the new landing rule that requires gymnasts to just hold their finishing position on the vault, uneven bars, and balance beam for at least one second before saluting. Failing to do this will ensure that the gymnast incurs a half-tenth deduction. The fan commented,

“It has to be frustrating for Arianna and Kentucky. If a judge is going to throw a 10 for leaning back and falling out of a landing and ignoring the new landing rule, then the same judge can decide to not take any deduction for amplitude….But the code doesn’t say you need to launch a vault through the ceiling like Haleigh does. By the code, Arianna’s vault was better.”

Another fan expressed, “Kentucky was underscored the ENTIRE night!!!! Worley has deserved a TEN for dozens of routines. Tell me where the deduction was on her floor tonight???”

Watch this story LSU Gymnast Olivia Dunne Pulls Off a Stunning Vault Routine to Pay Tribute to the Sport of Gymnastics

Another fan mentioned about the landing style and said, “Bryant shouldn’t be higher than a 9.9 maybe 9.925 but her landing was clearly not a stick. Patterson’s 9.925 is fair height, distance and chest slightly down, it’s still a great vault and stick but it’s not a perfect 10.”

Other comments delved into the details, with one noting, “Arianna’s chest was down but stuck the landing. Haleigh had more distance but did the college stick (which I thought should have been .1 off).” Another perspective highlighted the order of performances, arguing, “Bryant shouldn’t have gotten a 10 from any judge. But it’s hard to score Patterson at a 10 when Bryant was better. If Patterson had gone first, yes, give her a 10. But going after Bryant makes Patterson’s vault look far less dynamic.” The consensus among these comments seems to lean towards dissatisfaction and a perception of unfairness in the judging.

Read More: Social Media Sensation Olivia Dunne Admits to Being Nervous Before Interview at LSU: “Too Awk”