Forgive Carie Weinman if she wants to throw the first month of 2022 in a trash can.

The Valparaiso women’s basketball player suffered a freak ankle injury when she stepped on the foot of a teammate in the second practice back from Christmas break. As Weinman began rehabbing an injury that never seemed to improve, she tested positive for COVID-19. Getting sidelined from competition was bad enough, but now Weinman had to stay away from her teammates.

So much for a Happy New Year.

“I thought the ankle was going to be minor and it ended up being a lot worse than I thought,” Weinman said. “Then I got COVID; couldn’t travel with the team. Once I came back, it was a different perspective. I enjoyed cheering my teammates on. It’s all that I could do. That’s how I got through it.”