A pair of stars returned to Baton Rouge on Friday night, and half of that pair began a quest to become back-to-back national champions.
Livvy Dunne and the defending national champion LSU gymnastics team opened their season Friday against Iowa State.
Dunne, back for his fifth year of eligibility, helped the nation’s second-ranked team to a 197.300-194.100 victory over Iowa State.
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Olivia Dunne of the LSU Tigers before a game against the Florida Gators at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on February 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Florida. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Dunne placed third on floor and fourth on beam with scores of 9.875 and 9.825, respectively.
Dunne’s boyfriend, LSU alumnus and NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes, was also in attendance.
Before becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Skenes was the ace of an LSU team that won the College World Series. Skenes was called up to the majors early in the season, started in the All-Star Game, and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting with his 1.96 ERA and 11.5 K/9.
Paul Skenes and Olivia Dunne on the set of ESPN’s “College GameDay” at the LSU Quad on Nov. 9, 2024, in Baton Rouge. (LSU Athletics/University Images via Getty Images)
LSU’s Aleah Finnegan, an Olympic gymnast from the Philippines, led the all-around event with a score of 39.725.
The meeting came just days after Dunne and Skenes were on Bourbon Street, hours before a terrorist attack killed 14 people in the French Quarter.
LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne and her boyfriend, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, celebrated the New Year in New Orleans. (livvydunne via Instagram)
Bourbon Street is about an hour and a half from Baton Rogue.
