Greg Marsden, Samantha Peszek & Alicia Sacramone Quinn Join Pac-12 Networks

Greg Marsden, Samantha Peszek & Alicia Sacramone Quinn Join Pac-12 Networks

Pac-12 Networks has announced the addition of three outstanding gymnastics legends to their live event coverage team. Former Utah head coach Greg Marsden, a

Dec 30, 2015 by Rebecca Johnson
Greg Marsden, Samantha Peszek & Alicia Sacramone Quinn Join Pac-12 Networks
Pac-12 Networks has announced the addition of three outstanding gymnastics legends to their live event coverage team. Former Utah head coach Greg Marsden, along with Olympians Samantha Peszek ?and Alicia Sacramone Quinn have been welcomed to the Pac-12 Networks for the upcoming season. They are joining returning broadcasters Jim WatsonBrian Webber, and 1996 Olympian Amanda Borden.

Release via Pac-12 Networks Insider

SAN FRANCISCO (December 29, 2015) – A slew of broadcast veterans and decorated newcomers bring their expertise and wealth of knowledge to Pac-12 Networks’ senior season of women’s gymnastics coverage that features 27 total events, six up from last year.

Returning broadcasters include: play-by-play experts Jim Watson and Brian Webber, in addition to analyst Amanda Borden, a former American Gymnast and U.S. Gold Medalist from the 1996 summer U.S. Olympic team.

New to the Networks this year are: former Utah womenÂ’s gymnastics head coach Greg Marsden and Olympians Samantha Peszek and Alicia Sacramone Quinn.

 Marsden, the winningest gymnastics coach in NCAA history, joins Pac-12 Networks as a womenÂ’s gymnastics analyst. Marsden, UtahÂ’s gymnastics coach for the first 40 years of the programÂ’s existence, retired in April 2015. Marsden is the sportÂ’s first 1,000-win coach—winning 83-percent of his competitions and amassing a 1,048-208-8 career record. His teams won a record-tying 10 national championships and narrowly missed out on another title in his final season, when the Utes finished second at the 2015 NCAA Championships. All 40 of MarsdenÂ’s teams qualified for the national championships, including the 34 NCAA sanctioned championships from 1982-2015. Other national bests for Marsden and his teams included number of finishes in the top five (30), top three (23) and top two (19). Outside the gym, Marsden served on the NCAA gymnastics committee for five years. He was the president of the National Association of Gymnastics Coaches/Women for a two-year term, during which time he served as the associationÂ’s NCAA Division I representative.

UCLA Bruin Peszek joins Pac-12 Networks as a womenÂ’s gymnastics analyst. Peszek ended her collegiate career as one of the most accomplished student-athletes at UCLA, with three NCAA individual titles, including the all-around title as a senior and balance beam championships as a freshman and as a senior. She is the first UCLA gymnast ever to win multiple NCAA balance beam titles. She finished her career with 17 All-America honors, along with three NCAA, seven NCAA Regional and three Pac-12 individual titles. She scored a perfect 10 on uneven bars in 2014 and had career-bests of 9.95 on every other event and 39.700 in the all-around. During her time at UCLA, Peszek won four Scholastic All-American honors, three Pac-12 All-Academic awards, and was nominated for a Honda Sports Award. Peszek had a stellar international career prior to attending UCLA. A member of the U.S. National team from 2004-09, Peszek won a silver medal with the U.S. team at the 2008 Olympics and a gold medal at the 2007 World Championships. She was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2013 as a member of the 2007 World Championship team. Peszek also hosted a weekly gymnastics interview series on uclabruins.com for three years, and has broadcasting experience doing color commentary for USA Gymnastics events.

Olympic medalist and world champion gymnast Quinn serves as a Pac-12 Networks womenÂ’s gymnastics analyst. During her career, Alicia won twelve medals, including four gold medals on vault and two gold medals on floor exercise at the US National Championships from 2004 to 2008. At the world championships from 2005-07, she won seven medals, including a floor exercise gold in 2005 and a team gold in 2007. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Alicia won a team silver medal. In 2010, Sacramone made a comeback by winning the National Championship on vault. Later in 2010 at the World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, she won the World Title on vault as well. Alicia ended her career as the most decorated U.S. gymnast in the history of the World Championships. In addition to Pac-12 Networks, fans can see her on NBCSN and SEC Network.

Six of the eight Pac-12 teams are ranked in the preseason top 25: No. 4 Utah, No. 6 UCLA, No. 8 Stanford, No. 12 Oregon State, No. 14 California and No. 18 Arizona.

Additionally, the Pac-12 Women’s Gymnastics All-Century team will be revealed on the February 1 episode of ‘Pac-12 Sports Report,’ which airs after the women’s gymnastics doubleheader of Arizona at Utah and UCLA at California.


Related:
SEC Network Expands Live Coverage In 2016