DENVER – The University of Denver skiing team will begin its quest for a repeat next week as the Nordic team competes at the US National Championships while the Alpine team joins them at the University of Colorado Invite a week later. The 2019 schedule will feature four regular season events, followed by the RMISA Championships in Anchorage, Alaska. The campaign will end with the national championships in Stowe, Vt.

The 2018 squad finished atop the team standings in four of the six team events while capping it off with a National Championship in Steamboat, Colo. 12 different Pioneers earned 17 All-America honors for their efforts at the NCAA's including seven student-athletes that earned 10 First-Team All-America Honors.

Head coaches Andy LeRoy (Alpine) and Dave Stewart (Nordic) will try and guide the Pioneers to a 25^th National Championship and second-straight title. Denver's Alpine and Nordic roster consists of 18 returners and seven newcomers and is highlighted by Amelia Smart who won NCAA titles in both Alpine events.

"We brought in some great talent with this year's recruiting class," said LeRoy. "I have been excited to see them work and I believe we will be strong when it matters the most."

"The Nordic side of the team is more motivated than ever before.  Together we have established a positive training culture over the last few years, with our athletes doing more and better training over the summer and arriving on campus in the fall ready to make the most of our team training sessions.  We just finished our first on-snow training camp in Silver Star, British Columbia with perfect training conditions to start the winter," Said Stewart. "Looking ahead, we will be specifically focusing on preparing for sea-level racing this season with our major national and international championships taking place at low altitude as well as NCAA's in March.  Our team loves working together towards our big common goal of earning another NCAA Championship, so we will be looking to develop through the winter with #25 as our target come March."

The coaches will lean on key returners Eivind Kvaale, Linn Eriksen, Jasmi Joensuu, Tobias Kogler and Andrea Komsic who will all look to build off of strong 2018 campaigns that resulted in top-five-finishes at the NCAA's. Freshmen Jimmy Colfer, Sadie Cotton, Katie Hensien, OleMarius Kirkeng, Tristan Lane, Gracie Shanley and Simon Fournier will join transfer Natalia Muller in the transition to new coaches and teammates with the goal of contributing to another championship run.

DENVER ATHLETICS TICKETS: For all Denver Athletics ticket inquiries, call 303-871-GOAL (4625), or visit DenverPioneers.com.

RIDE THE SKI TRAIN:
Join the defending National Champion Denver Ski Team for a day on the mountain on January 26^th. The train leaves Union Station at 6:45 am and will arrive at Winter Park Resort at 9 am where the National Champion DU Ski Team will be your expert guides on the mountain offering choices of freeskiing, snowcat tours or snowshoeing. The train will return to Union Station at 6:40 pm on the evening of the 26^th.

PIONEER MOVEMENT:
Fans interested in making a donation to the skiing program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.  

- Pioneer Together -
Like Denver Pioneers and University of Denver Ski Team on Facebook