PSA prep basketball player Trent Coleman took a look at the track record and liked what he saw.
He saw that over the past four years, Southwest Mississippi Community College coach Bryan Bender has coached or signed 30 players who have gone on to sign with Division I schools.
“And a lot of them have been long wings like me,” the 6-foot, 7-inch Coleman said April 15, a few hours after announcing his commitment to play for the Bears next season. “I felt real comfortable with that and I really see myself and my playing style fitting in well there.”
Coleman, a native of Ridgeland, Miss., averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game this year as the Mustangs went 18-3. He saw action in 16 games, including one start, and played every position except point guard at different times of the season.
“They’ve been watching me the whole time, really since my senior year,” Coleman said of the program that is located about two hours from his hometown. “And they never backed off when I came up to Putnam, they always checked in with me.”
Coleman was a favorite of his teammates at PSA and widely respected by the coaching staff.
“Trent is one of the best kids we’ve ever had at Putnam Science Academy. I really mean that,” Mustangs coach Tom Espinosa said. “He’s a kid who did whatever we asked. He played every position, covered anybody, he lost playing time when we brought in eight new guys for the second semester, and he never complained about any of it. He just worked.
“Trent has a great future ahead of him. He will be successful in whatever he does and I’m glad we had a chance to have him here.”
Coleman is the 11th member of the 2020-21 PSA Prep team to commit to playing in college; the first 10 will all be playing Division I, which Coleman said can only help him moving forward.
“I’m going to go up against good competition here at Southwest,” he said, “but I don’t think it’ll be matched up to Putnam in any way. Every game, every day in practice, you’re working against someone who is a Division I player. I don’t think I’m going to see that many guys at that level right away here. Playing at Putnam taught me how to play and fit in with other good players, not just being on a team with one or two guys who were good.
“And off the court too, Putnam taught me how to live. It got me ready for anything that might come my way. I appreciate all that Putnam has done for me.”
Coleman believes that with the foundation laid at PSA and the work he knows how to put in for the next year or two at Southwest, he can absolutely play at the Division I level.
“I knew in the back of my head that this is where I wanted to go just based on the players they’ve produced and the way me and the coach have been talking,” he said. “Signing my scholarship paperwork, it’s a relief because I finally made a decision and I can go to school for free.
“And I’m just really excited to see what the future holds for me.”
Coleman joins Josh Bascoe (Bucknell), Sean Durugordon (Missouri), Isaiah Folkes (Charlotte), Bryce Harris (Howard), Bensley Joseph (Miami), Nic Louis-Jacques (Colgate), Nana Owusu-Anane (Brown), Alexis Reyes (East Carolina), Mohamed Sanogo (Florida International), and Leon Williams (Gardner-Webb) as members of the 2020-21 PSA Prep team to commit to playing in college.
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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Tennis Seniors
Woodstock Academy seniors, from left: Connor Quinn, Stefan Chervenkov and Asier Ruiz will lead the Centaurs boys’ tennis team this season. Courtesy photo.
Two years is a pretty long period of time and lots can change — especially in high school.
Siana Green returns as coach of The Woodstock Academy boys’ tennis team, but has been busily reacquainting herself with her team.
Woodstock opened the season with a 7-0 win over Killingly last week. The Centaurs finished 14-4 in 2019 thanks to the talents of singles players like David Fleck, who finished with a 12-4 record at No. 1 singles - Luigi Boselli (14-2) Riley Douglas (11-6) and Matt Tiffany (9-5).
Unfortunately, all four of those players are gone. It means two-thirds of Green’s top doubles players from two years ago, Stefan Chervenkova (who was 10-5 at No. 1 doubles with Aidan Stewart) and the No.2 doubles team of Connor Quinn and Jai Abrams (12-6) will be in the singles ranks.
Chervenkova, now a senior, had played doubles with Stewart, now a college freshman, for two years and enjoyed the experience as Stewart was a very vocal partner.
This season, there is no partner to fall back on. That’s something that Chervenkova is actually looking forward to.
During the pandemic lockdown phase, there was no chance to play. But during the summer, Chervenkova was able to play a bit more.
Still, playing in a recreational way is much different than playing competitively for a team.
“Mentally, it’s been tough for all us,” he said. Chervenkov looked good in his first singles play as he shutout Killingly’s Lucas Clayton 6-0, 6-0 in the season opener.
Returnees Connor Quinn and Evan Haskins have settled into the second and third singles for the Centaurs for now.
Quinn, a senior, downed Killingly’s Kevin Rice 6-1, 6-0 and Haskins was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Kevin Gore.
No. 4 singles player Kyle Pazienza had it easy as he won by a Killingly forfeit.
Abrams is back at doubles but has a new partner with Quinn playing singles.
Abrams is now at first doubles with Cormac Nielsen and they produced an 8-1 victory over Killingly’s Anthony Purcell and Jason Khaomongk.
Gabrial Viau and Asier Ruiz, the only other senior on the Centaurs team, won at second doubles with James Le and Cang Nguyen also winning easily at third doubles.
Green said the lineup shake up is not limited to Woodstock Academy after a year away from competition.
“It’s going to be the same for every team we play. Everybody had to rebuild. We’re all in the same boat,” Green said.
Outside of a couple of matches with Stonington, the Centaurs will have a bit of a scaled-back schedule.
They will play in Division 2 with the likes of Killingly, St. Bernard, Lyman Memorial, and Montville rather than some tennis powers like E. Lyme and Waterford.
Green already likes the work ethic the team has displayed, coming early and leaving late from practice.
And a title is not the biggest goal. Normalcy is.
Marc Allard
Director of Sports Information
The Woodstock Academy
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President’s List
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Tiffany Dauphinais of Chepachet, was named to Sherman College of Chiropractic’s President’s List for the spring 2020 academic quarter.
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WOODSTOCK — Entrepreneur, community leader, pilot, and avid fisherman, Fernand “Fern” Edgar Phaneuf Jr., 88, died March 29, 2021.
He leaves his wife of 65 years Lorraine (Riendeau) Phaneuf; his two children, Anne Falvey and Michael Phaneuf, and his husband John Moniz: his grandchildren, Christopher Syrek (Tori), Gregory Syrek, Sean Falvey, Jessie Phaneuf-Moniz, and Anthony Phaneuf-Moniz, and his great granddaughter Grace Anne Syrek; nephew Jeff Cartier (Alice), and his niece Judy (Cartier) Favreault (Roland). He was predeceased by his sister Jeanette (Phaneuf) Cartier, his brother-in-law John Cartier Sr., his nephew, John Cartier Jr., and his son in-law, Daniel Syrek.
Born in 1933 in Woodstock to the late Fernand Phaneuf Sr. and Edourdina (Garceau) Phaneuf, he attended Woodstock Academy and graduated with the Class of 1951. He served in the U.S. Army in the Military Police Corp during the Korean Conflict.
Upon his return, graduated from New England Institute of Technology (formerly known as New England Technical Institute). Shortly thereafter, he started one of his first entrepreneurial ventures, Fern’s Radio & TV, later known as Fern’s Radio, as the successful sales and service distributor of Motorola Products. He also owned and opened Guardian Answering Service, In-Touch Communications, and Tower Sites, Inc.
Fern was also involved in his community. In his early years, he would be seen putting up Christmas lights for the Town of Putnam or serving as a volunteer with the Woodstock Volunteer Fire Department. Fern could not just do it, he had to lead it. He served as president of the fire department for three years and also served as president of the Smithfield Figure Skating Club in Rhode Island, one of the skating clubs where his son Michael trained in the sport. However, he is most known for his involvement in the Woodstock Fair. He served first as the superintendent of Grounds and then as general manager for 27 years. He was known for bringing in record numbers of guests and turning the three-day fair into the four-day fair that it is today. In his spare time, Fern enjoyed being on his boat fishing and traveling with his wife Lorraine.
A Celebration of Life will be held in the fall. Gilman Funeral Home & Crematory, 104 Church St, Putnam. Donations: Woodstock Fair for a scholarship fund being created in Fern’s memory by the Woodstock Agricultural Society and the Woodstock Fair. Send to Woodstock Fair, PO Box 1, S. Woodstock, CT 06287. Please earmark it for the Fern Phaneuf Scholarship.
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