Colgate First-Year Will Captain Swiss National Team on Hunt for Spot at 2018 Winter OlympicsFreshman Livia Altmann will be traveling to her hometown of Arosa, Switzerland to compete for the Switzerland National Team as they look to earn a spot in the 2018 Olympics. The team will play three games in the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which takes place from Feb. 9-12.
Altmann is the captain of the Swiss National team and has already led them to a fifth-place finish at the Nations Cup earlier this season.
Switzerland is currently ranked sixth in the world, which placed them just outside of the automatic qualification that the top five teams receive. In order to secure a spot in the 2018 Olympics, the team will have to place first in the Qualifying Tournament this weekend. They will play the other teams in “Group C” once, with the final standings deciding which squad earns the Olympic bid. The three other teams vying for the spot are #9 Czech Republic, #10 Denmark, and #13 Norway.
Altmann has previously won a bronze medal with the Swiss National Team during the 2014 Sochi Olympics and was named MVP for Team Switzerland during the 2016 Worlds.
This season, Altmann has tallied five points in 28 games with the Raiders, scoring two goals and recording three assists. Both of Altmann’s goals have gone down as game-winners and all five of her points have come in ECAC Hockey play.
The 2018 Olympics will be held from Feb. 9-25 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Switzerland National Team Olympic Qualifier Schedule (All times are in local time, +6 hours ahead of Eastern Time)
- Thursday, Feb. 9: Switzerland vs Denmark at 4:00 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 11: Switzerland vs Norway at 4:00 p.m.
- Sunday, Feb. 12: Switzerland vs Czech Republic at 4:00 p.m.