DENVER – University of Denver Skiing announced today that the team has added three student-athletes to its alpine squad for the upcoming 2024 winter season.
 
The class includes Eirik Kveno (Asker, Norway), who is transferring from St. Michael's College, as well as incoming freshmen Liv Moritz (Vail, Colorado) and Christian Soevik (Oslo, Norway).
 
"We are confident about the upcoming season as we head into our third year at the University of Denver," said Denver Alpine Head Coach Joonas Rasanen. "We had a pretty clear vision on what we needed to add to the team to be among the best alpine ski teams in the country. We lost significant pieces on both the women's and men's sides last year, but we feel that we have filled the gaps that our senior class left behind.
 
"On the women's side, we added a super talented athlete in Liv Moritz, who has already started at DU as also a member of the women's soccer team. Liv will bring pace to training, and we are excited to see her growth over the next four years with us.
 
"On the men's side, we are bringing in two talented and eager Norwegian student-athletes who will provide pace in training, as well as leadership and experience from the NCAA and European Cup levels. Eirik Kveno joins us from St. Michael's College where he had a successful 2023 season and earned two All-American honors at the NCAA Championships. Christian Soevik is coming to DU straight off the Norwegian European Cup team, bringing some swagger and high-level racing experience to our men's team."
 
"We believe that we have found the additions that we were looking for going into next year, and we believe that we will be competing for a national title in March at this year's NCAA Championships in Steamboat Springs."
 
Below is more information on each skier.
 
Eirik Kveno | Men's Alpine | Asker, Norway
5-9 | Donski Vidregaende | St. Michael's College/Asker Skiklubb

Awards:
Second Team NCAA All-American (giant slalom) … Second Team NCAA All-American (slalom) … EISA All-East Alpine First Team … College Sports Communicators NCAA Division II Academic All-District … USCSCA National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team
 
2023 (St. Michael's College):
Spent the 2023 season skiing collegiately for St. Michael's College of EISA, earning two Second-Team All-America awards at the NCAA Championships … Registered three podiums and one victory during the year, winning the season-opening Bates Carnival giant slalom on Jan. 12 … Also reached the podium in slalom with a third-place finish at Bates on Jan. 14 and came in second in GS at the EISA Championships on Feb. 24 … Finished 13-of-14 races during the collegiate season, placing in the top 10 in all 13 … Had six top-five results, with four coming in giant slalom … In addition to the three podiums, also placed fifth in giant slalom and fourth in slalom at the New Hampshire Carnival on Jan. 27-28 and was fifth in GS at the Harvard meet on Feb. 10 … Came in eighth in giant slalom at NCAA Championships on March 8 and finished ninth in slalom at nationals on March 10 in Lake Placid, New York … Named EISA Alpine Skier of the Week on Jan. 26, 2023 … Finished second giant slalom standings during the 2023 EISA Regular Season.
 
Before College: Skied for Asker Skiklubb club in Norway prior to coming to the United States … Placed 13th in giant slalom at 2021 Swedish National Championship ... Top nine in all five events at 2021 Norwegian National Junior Championship, taking third in alpine combined, fifth in downhill, seventh in giant slalom and super-G and ninth in slalom ... Finished in the top 10 at 16 FIS races in 2021, reaching the podium once.

Personal:
Son of Gjermund and Birgitte Ranheim Kveno … Has a sister, Hermine … Father Gjermund skied at the University of Utah … Graduated from Donski Vidregaende in 2019 … Intends to major in economics at DU … Hobbies include windsurfing, golf, tennis and biking
 
Why DU:
"The ability to combine academics and alpine skiing at a high level, with great facilities, staff and teammates around."
   
Liv Moritz | Women's Alpine | Vail, Colorado
5-6 | Vail Mountain School | Ski and Snowboard Club Vail/U.S. Ski Team
 
Before Denver:
Previously competed for Ski and Snowboard Club Vail and was named to the U.S. Ski Team Alpine D Team for the 2024 season ... Helped the United States to fifth place in the team parallel at the FIS World Junior Championship in Austria in January 2023 … Placed third in super-G, fifth in slalom and 10th in giant slalom at the 2023 U.S. Alpine National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho … Placed second in slalom and ninth in giant slalom at the 2023 Nor-Am Cup Finals in Whistler … Overall, took part in 16 Nor-Am Cup races during 2023 season, recording six top 10 results (three in slalom, two in giant slalom, one in super-G) … Placed first in slalom at the 2023 Italian National Championships … Competed as a non-collegiate athlete at the 2023 Colorado and Denver Invitationals and finished ninth among all skiers in giant slalom at the CU Invite … Awarded to Les Streeter Award for most outstanding alpine performance in 2023 … Enters 2024 season ranked No. 109 in the world in slalom.

Personal:
First name is pronounced Leave … Also a member of Denver's Division I women's soccer team … Daughter of Misha and Kaia Moritz … Has three sisters: twin sister, Kjersti, who is also expected to ski collegiately; older sister, Annika duPont; and younger sister, Solveig … Mom, Kaia, played rugby and skied at Dartmouth and earned a graduate degree in business from DU in 1999 … Father Misha played soccer at the University of Colorado … Aunt Randi Borgen competed in lacrosse, alpine skiing and field hockey at Middlebury College … Career goals are to ski and play soccer for as long as she enjoys both, hopes to attend the Olympics for alpine skiing … Hobbies include tennis, cooking/baking, listening to music, needlepoint, art, mountain biking, traveling and going to concerts … Participated in the Vail Mountain School Environmental Club and Chess Club and volunteered with the Eagle Valley Community Market and Salvation Army … 2023 Vail Mountain School Faculty Award for Scholar Athlete and awarded the Vail Mountain School Excellence in Science in 2021 and 2022.

Why DU:
"I chose the University of Denver because the variety of majors and minors offered will allow me to explore numerous interests, the proximity of the campus to the mountains and city, and athletics with very dedicated coaching staff and athletes."
Christian Soevik | Men's Alpine | Oslo, Norway
6-2 | Oppdal Upper Secondary School | Kjelsaas IL
 
Before Denver:
Skied for the Kjelsaas IL club … Had one top-10 and three top-15 finishes in slalom on the Europa Cup circuit in 2022 and 2023 … Career-best finish in Europe Cup is ninth in slalom at Berchtesgaden, Germany, on Jan. 8, 2022 … Placed sixth in alpine combined, 10th in giant slalom and 12th in super-G at the 2022 FIS World Junior Championships … Was first in slalom and second in giant slalom in 2022 Norwegian National Championships and was fourth in 2023 Italian National Championship … Was third in the giant slalom at Norway's National Junior Championships in 2018, earning high school honors as well.

Personal:
Son of Asbjorn and Daniela Soevik … Has a younger brother, Erik … Graduated from Oppdal Upper Secondary School in 2021 … Intends to major in finance at DU … Career goals after skiing include working for a private equity firm as statistics and numbers are an interest of his … Hobbies include playing and coaching tennis, golf, rock climbing and biking.
 
Why DU:
"I chose the University of Denver because it`s an excellent choice for academics and to be part of a great ski team."


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