What a time for LSU athletics.
While the Tigers’ women’s basketball team celebrated their first national championship win in the program’s history on Sunday, LSU’s gymnastics team kicked off the festivities elsewhere as they advanced to the NCAA semifinals.
Olivia Dunne, LSU’s superstar gymnast and top NIL earner, honored the women’s basketball team in a post on her Instagram Stories before sharing a video of her own locker room celebrations.
“A great day to be a Tiger,” Dunne wrote alongside a photo that featured her and LSU teammate Alexis Jeffrey jumping for joy.
The Instagram page for LSU gymnastics also posted the same photo with the caption, “That moment your school’s women’s basketball team just won the national championship.”
The No. 3 Tigers defeated the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday in Dallas, 102-85, with LSU head coach Kim Mulkey bringing a championship to her home state of Louisiana in her second year with the team.
As for LSU gymnastics’ sixth-ranked squad, they advanced out of the NCAA Denver Regional Final with their final score of 197.750 in Magness Arena — punching their ticket to the 2023 NCAA Championships.
Denver took the regional title while LSU and Michigan tied for second in the meet.
In order to determine who would advance, the sixth score from each rotation was used to break the tie between the Tigers and the Wolverines, with LSU coming out on top with a score of 237.050-235.725.
Dunne, who boasts more than 3.8 million Instagram followers, shared a video of the Tigers dowsing their coaching staff with water inside the locker room.
The team was seen jumping around and cheering.
“NATTY BOUND,” Dunne wrote over the video.
The 20-year-old junior also shared a TikTok video of her and a teammate dancing in their hotel room.
“Sweet 16 baby!” Dunne wrote in her caption.
The New Jersey native is on a four-year athletic scholarship at LSU.
Dunne currently earns seven figures in brand deals and NIL, including partnerships with Vuori clothing, College GameDay, Forever21, Too Faced Cosmetics, GrubHub, and American Eagle.
LSU has some of the top NIL earners and social media influencers in women’s sports.
Dunne, along with basketball stars Angel Reese, a sophomore, and freshman Flau’jae Johnson, are making six-seven figures after the NCAA rule change in 2021 — enabling student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness.
The Tigers are one of eight teams headed to Fort Worth to compete in the NCAA semifinals on April 13, when they will face No. 2 Florida, No. 7 California, and No. 14 Denver in Dickies Arena.
It marks LSU gymnastics’ 32nd appearance at the NCAA Championships.