“I thought we got one step better today,” LSU Gymnastics coach Jay Clark said right after the contest, hosted in Paycom Center, Oklahoma. It was Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, the second edition. The anticipation had already been high throughout it, as it was the Tigers’ road opener this season. Also, the gymnastics battle was against three ranked opponents, including the top seed, Oklahoma. So, the contest needed Olivia Dunne’s squad to come out valiantly. Did they do it? According to the coach, the squad did. However, Oklahoma took away the top position in the contest, by scoring 197.950. Still, the contest had something for LSU Gymnastics. 

The program’s score, 197.650, came as the second-best in the Quad meet. But it is the highest score for LSU in the road opener in its history. Apart from that, Clark found a few more positive things in the meet and those were not about the performance. 

LSU Gymnastics coach gives his ratings to ESPN’s arrangement 

Already in its second edition, the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad is also known as ESPN Invitational. Last year, the inaugural one was hosted at the Maverik Center and it had UCLA in Cal’s place. However, this time, the sponsor ESPN had the responsibility to makeover Paycom Center suitably.

According to Jay Clark, the media house did a fine job in shaping it. On January 14, Olivia Dunne’s coach met the media outlets and briefed them on his take on the Quad meet.

In the press meeting, he said, “ESPN does a fantastic job with securing the sponsorships and making the experience for the teams just first class all the way through the arena looked fantastic. All the details they had the walls in the back of the house.” The national gymnastics champion coach had a few more things to add. 

In the presser, Jay Clark claimed, “It felt like a championship competition.” The adrenaline rush in the presence of top gymnastics camps, the atmosphere, and the facilities seemed to impress the coach a lot. Furthermore, ESPN’s arrangement to cover the contests also won his heart. The Invitational featured three quad meets, each broadcast on ESPN. Also, the contests raised a lot of hype among the gymnastics fans. That also built the case for the viewership of the Invitational.

The combination of such reasons led Clark to say, “It’s a great meet, and it’s something we want to continue to participate.” As far as the partnership goes between the LSU Gymnastics and ESPN, Clark had to share a few things on that head as well. 

It was all about full praise. In the press meet, the proud coach conceded, “I think kudos to them as our TV partner ESPN has done amazing things for us over the last uh eight 10 years to continue to raise the level of awareness of our sport so I’m just I’m very appreciative of the event that they’ve put on.”

The awareness, the arrangement, or the broadcast- the elements found a space in his comments. But what about Olivia Dunne’s performance? How did she utilize the platform? 

Olivia Dunne continues to win hearts 

In the Quad meet on January 11, LSU Gymnastics had several barricades to topple. First, the program had a contest against the frontrunners. Also, in this contest, the Tigers were slated to get the most decorated member, Haleigh Bryant’s service in only one event – the balance beam. However, the recovering gymnast couldn’t add much score to the contest. So? The way out?

Olivia Dunne had the Tigers’ back!

Livvy scored 9.775 in the balance beam routine. The score was sub-par. But the program had to count it, as Haleigh’s score wasn’t enough. In the uneven bar routine, she amassed 9.725. The fans called Livvy’s routine “totally underscored,” though. However, the social media star didn’t keep her due.

She bounced back in the floor exercise event and scored 9.850. The score was counted, and the program found some oxygen in the race. Also, the same day witnessed a stellar scene. 

After the Quad meet, Olivia Dunne shared a clip of two kids on her Instagram story. The clip showed the kids copying Olivia’s balance beam routine in their house. The 22-year-old felt overjoyed watching the scene. She kept the caption, “so much cuteness [emoji].”

That seemed to be her memento in the contest where ESPN had the winner’s medal.