University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
      Mixed Rifle Team  

Stories & Highlights
2006-07  season 

Women's Air Rifle Captures MAC Title (3/4/06)

In their first year of membership in the Mid-Atlantic rifle Conference, the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia women's varsity air rifle team captured the Pro Marksmanship division title at the recently concluded MAC Championships hosted by the United States Coast Guard Academy defeating Massachusetts Maritime Academy's women's air rifle team 1355-1302.

Leading the way for the Devils was Danielle Grimaldi (Fr., Staten Island Tech HS/Staten Island, NY). Grimaldi a second year student in her first season of competition, shot cards of 77, 88, 74, 80, 81, 79 for a total of 479. Kathryn Bubacz (Fr., Padua Academy/New Castle, DE), also a second year student but competing in her first season, shot cards of 81, 76, 80, 74, 74, 72 for a total of 452. Rose Salamat rounded out the Devils scorers with a score of 419 (60, 77, 86, 65, 59, 72).

"The ladies shot well in their first year of competition," said Head coach Paul Klimitas, who completed his 30th year as the Devils varsity rifle coach. "We will expect much more next year."

In addition to the Devils women's team competing and winning a championship, USP's mixed rifle team also had three shooters competing individually. Making their last appearance as USP shooters were Glenn Raymond (Sr., Manchester Memorial HS/Manchester, NH) and Michael Colletti (Jr., Holy Trinity HS/Massapequa, NY). Both shooters competed in air rifle with Raymond tying his career high with a score of 569 (92, 93, 96, 97, 94, 97) and Colletti shooting 554 (89, 95, 94, 92, 92, 92). Both Colletti and Raymond finished their careers in the top 25 all-time average leaders in both smallbore and air rifle in school history.

"We will miss Raymond and Colletti badly, " adds Klimitas. "However, we have a bright future with eight freshman shooters who were red-shirted this season. Next year will be a lot of fun."

Michelle Bauer (So., Triton HS/ Blackwood, NJ) also competed at the MAC's, shooting smallbore only. Bauer turned in cards of 99, 100 prone; 94, 93 stand; and 93, 94 kneel for a total of 574. Bauer finishes her second year of competition as a First Team All-Conference selection in smallbore and a second team selection in air rifle. In addition, Bauer was named to the CRCA All-Academic All-American Team for the second consecutive year. Bauer also holds a top NCAA smallbore/air rifle ranking.

Devils Fall to Coast Guard (1/16/06)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia varsity rifle team started out the second half of their season yesterday with close losses to the United States Coast Guard Academy in an MAC conference match.

The Devils fell in smallbore, 2201-2117 and in air rifle 2198-2178. After two months off, Head Coach Paul Klimitas was satisfied with the squad's performance. "we had one short practice on Saturday and went right into the match on Sunday," adds Coach K. "Under those circumstances I can't be unhappy with the match outcome."

Michelle Bauer (So., Triton HS/ Blackwood, NJ) led the Devils in both guns with a smallbore score of 575 (98, 99 prone; 93, 97 stand; 94, 94 kneel) and an air rifle score of 574 (95, 95, 97, 96, 96, 95). Michael Colletti (Jr., Holy Trinity HS/Massapequa, NY) fired a 543 (97, 95 prone; 81, 85 stand; 93, 92 kneel)in smallbore while Glenn Raymond (Sr., Manchester Memorial HS/Manchester, NH) was right on his heels with a score of 540 (99, 96 prone; 86, 83 stand; 89, 87 kneel). Rounding out the Devils declared top four in smallbore was Alex Novin (Fr., Washington Township HS/Sewell, NJ) with a score of 459 (91, 94 prone; 67, 54 stand; 79, 74 kneel).

In air rifle, Raymond finished just seven points behind Bauer with a score of 567 (94, 94, 97, 94, 96, 92). Rounding out the Devils declared top four in air rifle were Colletti and Hannah Goess (Fr., Massapequa HS/ Massapequa, NY). Colletti shot a 528 (90, 88, 91, 81, 90, 88) while Goess shot 509 (89, 84, 84, 83, 87, 82).

The Devils fall to 6-5 in both smallbore and air rifle. USP will take on Loyola College of Maryland and Valley Forge Military College this Saturday, January 21, 2006 in a home match.

Devils Open Season With Home Win (10/1/05)

The University of the Sciences in Philadelphia varsity rifle team opened their 2005-06 campaign at home for the first time in thirteen years, recording a 2152-1866 win in smallbore and a 2125-1958 win in air rifle over John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The 2005-2006 season is the Devils 30th consecutive season with coach Paul Klimitas as the head coach. Coach K. passed Duquesne's Dave Cramer to become the second all-time college coaching leader in longevity. Only former King's College rifle coach Bill Kane (1946-1977) has put in more years as a head rifle coach (31).

Michelle Bauer (So., Triton HS/ Blackwood, NJ) paced the Devils in both guns, shooting 565 (97, 90 prone; 93, 93 standing; 97, 95 kneeling) in smallbore and 576 ((95, 96, 93, 97, 97, 98) in air rifle. Glenn Raymond (Sr., Manchester Memorial HS/Manchester, NH) was close behind with a score of 559 (98, 97 prone; 91, 86 standing; 92, 95 kneeling) in smallbore and a career-high 560 (94, 91, 96, 91, 95, 93) in air rifle.

Michael Colletti (Jr., Holy Trinity HS/Massapequa, NY) and Alex Novin (Fr., Washington Township HS/Sewell, NJ) rounded out the declared top four shooters for USP in both guns. Colletti fired a 543 in smallbore (100, 98 prone; 84, 80 standing; 88, 93 kneeling) and a 536 in air rifle (87, 84, 90, 87, 96, 92). Novin, in his first collegiate match, shot a 485 in smallbore (92, 92 prone; 69, 63 standing; 86, 83 kneeling) and a 453 in air rifle (81, 78, 75, 67, 71, 81).

Hannah Goess (Fr., Massapequa HS/Massapequa, NY) and Katie Bubacz were also competing in their first collegiate match, shooting 501 and 439 in air rifle respectively.

"The opening match is always like the first exam," remarked Coach K. "It is a very good bench mark to see where we are. The matches during the season lead up to the final exams in the NCAA qualifier, NRA sectional and MAC Championships. Saturday's match was a good score for us and we have work to do in air rifle."