BATON ROUGE – The LSU Gymnastics staff announced Wednesday the signing of Olivia Dunne, Haleigh Bryant and Elena Arenas.
Dunne is a U.S. national team member and senior international elite from Hillsdale, New Jersey. She trains at ENA Paramus and has competed internationally at Jesolo Trophy where the team finished first overall. Dunne owns top-10 all-around finishes at U.S. classic and P&G Championships in her career.
“Olivia combines a beautiful style and elegance with a deceptive level of power and explosiveness,” Clark said. “She will be impactful on all events for us and possesses a personality and enthusiasm for LSU that is infectious. We could not be happier to have Olivia joining us”
Bryant has won multiple J.O. all-around and event national championships as a level 10 gymnast at Everest Gymnastics Training Center. The Huntersville, North Carolina, native trained under Qi Han and Yiwen Chen. Bryant finished first on vault and bars and second in the all-around at the 2019 J.O. national championship.
“Haleigh committed to us very early in 8th grade and has developed into one of the most complete and dynamic gymnasts in the entire country. Incredible power is her calling card. Big gymnastics on all four events and she will be a crowd favorite. She has already shown us that she is a leader in many ways, and she will be a huge addition.”
Arenas is a former U.S. national team member and international elite competitor. The Athens, Georgia, native competes for her father Pete at Georgia Elite Gymnastics. Arenas owns top-10 all-around finishes at J.O. national championships, P&G Championships and U.S. Classic.
“Elena has a pedigree of greatness in her family. I am personally thrilled that she chose to become an LSU Tiger when most would have guessed she would have chosen elsewhere,” Clark added. “Elena has no weak events and an level of execution and clean lines that is perfect for college gymnastics. On so many levels, we are thrilled to have Elena as part of this stellar class.”
Fans will get to see the 2020 team for the first time at Gym 101, a free gymnastics showcase, at 7:15 p.m. CT on Friday, December 6 in the Maravich Center. There will be a fan fest outside the PMAC beginning at 5 p.m. with food, drinks and a special photo station with the Tigers’ SEC Championship trophies and crown.
Fans can follow the Tigers on the team’s social media channels: @LSUgym on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, www.Facebook.com/lsugym and at YouTube.com/lsugymnastics.
