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Olivia Dunne Celebrates LSU Gymnastics’ First Win of Season in Her Best Sparkly Leotard Yet

The LSU gymnastics team was victorious in their first meet of the 2025 season against Iowa State.

Natalie Zamora

Olivia Dunne was photographed by Ben Watts in Puerto Rico.
Olivia Dunne was photographed by Ben Watts in Puerto Rico. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

It was the moment Olivia Dunne had been preparing for. Officially, the LSU gymnastics team has kicked off its 2025 season, and the fifth-year senior was ready to give it her all during the first meet on Friday, Jan. 3, which saw the Tigers victorious. The 22-year-old SI Swimsuit model, who returned to the magazine in 2024 as a rookie, announced her return to the college last summer, excited about what she could prove as an individual competitor. After Dunne helped the team reach its first-ever NCAA Championships title last season, it was all but a no-brainer for her to return one last time.

And considering the Tigers’ success last season, all eyes were on the team on Friday night to see what they got in their first meet since winning the national championship. Taking place at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at LSU, among the standouts of the evening was senior Aleah Finnegan, who scored a 9.95 on the vault, 9.90 on uneven bars, 9.925 on the balance beam and 9.950 on the floor. This saw her win the All-Around title.

As for Dunne, she was an absolute star in her first meet of the season, scoring a 9.875 for her floor exercise and a 9.825 on the balance beam.

LSU’s final score came to 197.300, while Iowa State earned 194.100. According to Athlon Sports, this was the largest crowd the team had seen in program history with a total of 12,324 spectators, making their win all the more exciting. What a fabulous way to kick off the 2025 season.

Of course, Dunne was all over social media on Friday leading up to the meet and afterward. Taking to Instagram, she shared a peek at her “pre-meet hype” alongside Tigers teammate Kylie Coen, where they participated in a viral TikTok dance ahead of the big night. The pair looked as happy as ever, rocking matching purple, gold and white leotards with the team name spelled out in big sparkly letters on the front. Per usual, the New Jersey native wore her hair pulled back in a bun with a matching ribbon. She also shared a gorgeous selfie in the same leotard to her Instagram story.

“Let's goooooooooooooo Livvy,” one fan commented on the video below.

The official LSU Gymnastics Instagram account also shared multiple posts on Friday, dedicating one to Dunne wearing the most festive leotard perfect for the season opener—making it her best yet. Featuring long sheer sleeves in a white-to-purple ombré style, only a few inches of the piece didn’t include sequins. With gold accents on the end of the sleeves and around the feminine keyhole neckline, the internet personality truly embodied a prize with her full look for the meet.

And if you scroll through the images in the carousel below, you’ll see arguably the best part of Dunne’s leotard—the back. Featuring multiple gold criss-cross straps throughout and white sheer straps that all meet in the middle, this athlete superstar was not playing around when it came to her gymnastics fashion. And, really, we’ve already come to expect this level of excellence from her.

“White dazzler kinda night ✨,” the team’s account captioned the series of photos, to which Dunne responded, “We’re so back.”

Dunne also reposted a graphic from the LSU Gymnastics account announcing the final score, writing over it, “& that’s a tiger dub [sunglasses face emoji].”

In attendance at the Jan. 3 meet was Dunne’s sister Julz, who shared support for the gymnast on Instagram, along with her boyfriend Paul Skenes and his Pittsburgh Pirates teammate Bubba Chandler. Overall, it was a night worth celebrating.

The Tigers will next compete in the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad on Jan. 11, which will be televised on ABC.

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Natalie Zamora
NATALIE ZAMORA

Natalie Zamora is a leader in the digital media space who specializes in entertainment and lifestyle topics. After graduating from Rutgers University where she majored in English and minored in Cinema Studies, she currently works as the VP of Entertainment Content, FanSided/SI Swimsuit at Minute Media. In addition to SI Swimsuit, her work can also be found on sites such as Winter is Coming, Mental Floss, and more. With a deep passion for pop culture, Natalie has her finger on the pulse of trending topics and loves to keep up with her favorite celebrities.

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