"We will not be the hunted" - Olivia Dunne and LSU's head coach sends a clear warning to rivals as they get ready to begin their NCAA title defense

Olivia Dunne is one of the NCAA's most popular gymnasts, boasting a large following on social media. Recently, Dunne and the LSU Tigers’ coach, Jay Clarke, sent out a clear warning to their rival teams ahead of the 2025 gymnastics season.

For LSU, 2024 was an incredible and unforgettable season. The University’s gymnasts made school history when they were crowned NCAA national team champions, a first for the Tigers.

Now, as the team bid to defend their title in 2025, their head coach has a message for their rivals. In an LSU Plus interview, Clarke revealed that the team was going to maintain ‘an attitude of hunting’, saying,

“We will not be the hunted. We will remain in an attitude of hunting. That was last year's team, this is a different team. And I've told them ‘this title doesn't belong to this year's team’. And that's going to be our attitude going forward.”

Clarke went on to outline that he and his team enjoyed being the underdogs, and would not be getting complacent as a result of their 2024 victory.

“Pre-season poll came out, for whatever it's worth, it ain't worth a whole lot, but I'm glad we weren't number one, we're number two. And that means our colleagues and people around us think that there's somebody better than us, we want that.We want to stay in an attitude of chasing and pursuing. And so, that's going to be our identity. If it's not, then that means we're complacent. We're not going to get caught looking over our shoulders. We're going to chase it down, year over year.”

Olivia Dunne on returning to LSU for one more year

Olivia Dunne on returning to LSU (Image Source: Getty)

After being crowned national champion with the LSU Tigers last season, Olivia Dunne will be back with the team for one final year in 2025. The gymnast outlined that her reason for returning was because she wanted to prove herself as an individual competitor, saying in a video on her Instagram,

“I really enjoyed the dynamic of the team this year and it all came together well. Winning the national championships was a great team accomplishment, but I feel like I have more to give as an individual competitor.”

In 2024, Olivia Dunne dealt with injury issues and made an appearance on the mat in only nine of the Tigers’ meets. In her nine meets, she averaged a 9.857 on the floor and a 9.838 on bars. The year saw her set a career-high of 9.900 on the floor while competing at the Podium Challenge. She repeated this feat at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional Second Round. She also recorded a season-best of 9.875 on the bars last season.