The much-anticipated NCAA gymnastics season opener for defending champions LSU against Iowa has come and gone, and the Tigers are off on the right foot. Despite a strong challenge from the Iowa State Cyclones, Louisiana State defeated their opponents 197.300 to 194.100. Unfortunately, despite Olivia Dunne’s contribution to the victory, not all gymnastics fans are impressed.

Dunne, who returned to action after sitting out the 2024 NCAA finals, made her season debut on day one. It showed the faith Jay Clark has in the fifth-year senior, and she didn’t disappoint. Footage of the 22-year-old’s beam debut showed the gymnast executing the routine without any violations and sticking the landing to earn 9.825. Yet, that wasn’t enough to impress fans online.

Gymnastics fans picked apart Olivia Dunne’s routine, questioning the NIL star’s skills. “Severely overrated and also edits all her social media pics – please feature her less,” commented one fan on the post by Planet of Gymnastics on Instagram. Despite the judges giving Dunne high scores, the fans thought she didn’t deserve a 9.825.

Yet, despite the criticism directed toward Livvy, the night turned out to be a success for the Tigers in nearly every metric. The hype surrounding the defending champions’ season opener was palpable as the LSU Tigers welcomed 12,324 fans inside the PMAC. This was the largest crowd for an opening clash in Louisiana State Gymnastics’ history.

However, that wasn’t the only highlight of the night. Olivia Dunne contributed to the second-highest score for a season opener for LSU since 2010. However, these milestones did little to curb the criticism directed at the senior gymnast. “Most overhyped gymnast in the history of ever,” commented another user, but they didn’t elaborate on what they found to be flawed in Livvy’s routine. Yet, that changed when one fan defended Livvy’s routine in the comments.

Olivia Dunne’s fifth-year return has the gymternet split—half cheering, half critiquing, but everyone’s watching!

While the 22-year-old stuck her landing, it wasn’t a perfect one as the gymnast had to regain her balance. Thankfully, no points got deducted as she kept both feet planted on the spot. However, one Instagram user opined that the landing didn’t look impressive. “Sorry, but it’s giving bent knees,” commented the fan. However, the criticism attracted a response from another netizen.

“Can you guys do this???? If not, do not be talking,” the commenter stated bluntly in their response. This response sparked further comments, where the critics finally revealed the flaws they found in Olivia Dunne’s routine. “I can’t, but she can, and that’s why she didn’t get a perfect score. Those deductions add up,” one gymnastics enthusiast replied.

While the fan was overtly critical of the LSU Tigers star, she pointed out things another gymnast could’ve done better. “Still a solid routine, but other gymnasts can master the split and ring jumps,” added the netizen. One could argue that despite looking confident on the beams, Livvy opted for a safe routine instead of going all out with flourished to chase higher scores.

And while it’s quite possible that Dunne just wanted to avoid mistakes in her season debut, not everyone was ready to take that into account. “So we can’t be critics? LMAO, she sucks and is severely overrated,” responded one fan in far less subtle criticism of Olivia Dunne. However, what mattered to the Tigers was getting a win, and they passed the test with flying colors.

“I think in my time here, it may be the best opening performance we had, top to bottom. That doesn’t mean it was mistake-free. It just means that they did a great job,” said head coach Jay Clark in the post-face-off press conference. While Coach Clark expressed his concern in the pre-season event, he seemed satisfied with Livvy and the team. Yet, what did you think of Dunne’s routine? Tell us in the comments.