By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Katie Schwegmann watches her former Miami teammates work out. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

For Katie Schwegmann, basketball has been a bittersweet symphony.

There was the rhythmic beat of bouncing balls, the sweet sound of swish, the joyous cacophony of championships. Yet there was also the pop of her knees, the screams of anguish and the roar of a surgeon's drill.

Now there is silence. And understanding.

Twenty months after being named Miss Basketball in Kentucky as a Bishop Brossart senior, Schwegmann has given up the sport. After eight knee operations, the Miami University sophomore made the painful decision to stop so as not imperil her future health.

"It's hard sitting on the sidelines, not being able to go out and play," she said. "I want to do that so very much. ... But when I think about it, with high school and what I accomplished before I got here, I'm very thankful I made it as far as I did before I had to end my career."

Schwegmann tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in the final game of her junior season at Brossart, a game in which she also suffered a broken nose and a concussion. Even after all three injuries, she tried to convince trainers she could re-enter the game.

Schwegmann, now a team manager, throws a ball to a player. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

But the problem wasn't the ACL as much as repeated cartilage tears on the outer side of that knee. After tearing what little remained during a game in January against Northern Illinois, Schwegmann needed another surgery and was left with nearly no cushion between her tibia and fibula.

With increased risk of degenerative arthritis, and warnings of a possible knee replacement before the age of 40, Schwegmann had to weigh her sport against her future. Two of her surgeries had been on her other knee, repairing cartilage tears, and there was the additional risk that knee could become as bad as the left.

She took three months before deciding to undergo a meniscal allograft, in which cartilage from a cadaver was inserted into her knee.

"Katie and I spent hours on end just sitting and talking," said Dr. Angelo Colosimo, her orthopedist. "I think she made the right decision. Hopefully this will salvage her and give her a knee she can use the rest of her life."

Miami coach Maria Fantanarosa eased Schwegmann's mind by allowing her to remain on scholarship for four years.

"I really respect her for that," Schwegmann said. "Maria was really understanding about how important this was for me: being able to walk later on; when I have kids, being able to run after them."

Schwegmann has chosen to serve as a manager for the RedHawks. She helps with drills in practices, will keep game stats on the bench and soon might break down video clips for the team.

"With a player with that type of work ethic and such a positive personality, you want her around to rub off on the other players," Fantanarosa said.

Schwegmann grew up in a sports-mad family. Her father, Greg, holds the Brossart single-game scoring record with 43 points - Katie once scored 42 - and older brother Greg and sister Jill also played basketball for Brossart.

Jill was injured in an auto accident and missed most of her junior season, then tore her ACL in the second game of her senior year, ending her career.

"Seeing what she went through made me realize I was still pretty fortunate," Katie said.

Schwegmann became a three-time first-team all-state honoree and led her team to an All "A" Classic state championship. She led the state in scoring as a senior, averaging 27.4 points after coming back from the ACL surgery.

She also won state titles in track and finished as high as third individually in state cross country meets.

Yet the memory that makes her career feel worthwhile is her game-winning shot as a senior in the 10th Region championship basketball game against Estill County, the victory that sent Brossart to its first Sweet Sixteen state tournament. Playing the team against which she was injured the year before, Schwegmann totaled 32 points and 15 rebounds and rallied her team from a nine-point deficit in the final 1:23.

With Brossart trailing by a point in the final 10 seconds, Schwegmann hit a running jumper in the lane, and the crowd rushed the floor.

"It's a great thing to have as a memory," she said. "It was a dream come true."

Schwegmann, who averaged 2.6 points and 11.2 minutes a game for the RedHawks as a freshman, recently changed her major to exercise science and is considering becoming a physical therapist and possibly a coach.

"I can't give up basketball all the way," she said. "The girls still treat me like I'm on the team. It's a family.

"I can't go back and change anything that's happened. I might as well stay positive. I had such a positive experience in sports. I feel good about it."

E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com

For women, ACL injuries `come with territory'