Maryland Love Connection: Josh Asper & Kasey Tapman Asper
Fynn McDonald, Maryland Media Relations
6/25/2021
Josh Asper and Kasey Tapman Asper both led successful high school athletic careers in different parts of the state of Maryland. Little did the pair of four-time state champions in their respective sports of wrestling and field hockey know that going to the University of Maryland would write their love story around a third sport, golf.
Josh was already entering his senior year while Kasey was just getting her Maryland career started. They did not cross paths often. Instead, they would first meet through mutual friends and teammates.
“We really didn't have any classes together. It was at the field hockey team and the wrestling team outside activities that we hung out. And that's the first time I actually met him was my freshman year at a gathering at the Knox Boxes,” said Kasey, who is from Pocomoke City, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. “We first met there and thought nothing of it. I knew him as a friend and then in my senior year, we had been friends for a while and we just kind of hit it off after that.”
As the wrestling team and field hockey team served as complementary sports, the teams would often overlap in their activities, and that is how Kasey and Josh would fall for each other.
“Field hockey would always host events and they would be there. And wrestling would host events and we would be there,” said Kasey “That was kind of like our dual sport that we always hung out with.”
“Both of us being student-athletes we hung out with the same people and went out to the same places,” said Josh, from Parkton, Maryland, north of Baltimore. “I think the first time I really got to talk to her for an extended period of time was when a small group of wrestlers and field hockey players decided to go to a restaurant in DC and after that I started catching feelings.”
This would just be the beginning of a long friendship that began that first year that Kasey came to Maryland in 2011. The two would spend a lot of time together and often played golf at the University Golf Course where Kasey worked. Something that both Josh and Kasey described as one of their favorite memories together.
“We were friends for a long time before we became a relationship so I remember passing her in Xfinity Center and being excited to share a short conversation before heading to practice, class or study Hall.” said Josh “Playing golf with her and friends at the UMD course was always fun. Watching her play field hockey and bringing some friends because we were not dating yet and I didn't want it to seem weird. We would always bring two other partners but I loved her competitiveness and thought she was fun to be around.”
“[One of my] favorite memories was just being able to go out on the golf course and play with each other. There are so many fun memories,” added Kasey.
It wasn’t until Kasey’s senior year, in 2015, that the two began talking regularly and would begin their relationship. Upon graduating (in 2013) as the second-winningest wrestler in program history, Josh would join the wrestling team's coaching staff and would keep in touch with Kasey.
“When I was a senior he was the volunteer assistant for the wrestling team, so he was there for two more years.” said Kasey. “I always saw him, he was always lifting when we were lifting and we just passed each other all the time because we had to go to study hall and every day we were in XFINITY so we just passed the wrestling room all the time. That’s where we always laid eyes on each other.”
“I remember passing her in XFINITY Center and being excited to share a short conversation before heading to practice, class or study Hall.” added Josh.
As they began dating, Josh remained a strong supporter of Kasey and the Maryland field hockey team, coming to as many games as he could. Something that Kasey was very thankful for.
“One of my favorite memories was him being able to come to my games my senior year and we won a playoff game and we were able to go to Syracuse to play and he was able to come and watch,” Kasey said.
Both Kasey and Josh explained that being student-athletes allowed them to grow and be successful in their relationship.
“Sports and school at the same time was a challenge for me at times but honestly I thought I made much more responsible decisions with my free time while in a relationship. So if anything that helped balance the other two,” said Josh.
“Just being able to understand the lifestyle, traveling, on the go, not always even having that 9-5 job, we just kind of understood the lifestyle. It's easy for us and we trust each other,” added Kasey.
After Kasey graduated in 2015, they have been together for nearly eight years and recently got married on May 22, 2021, in Delmar, Maryland surrounded by a large number of former Terps and teammates.
“There were tons of wrestlers and field hockey players,” said Kasey. “There were so many alums there, it was kind of like old times reuniting with everyone. It’s amazing we've been together eight years now, come October. It feels like it was yesterday but we're just growing.”
“The wedding was fantastic and we had a lot of Terps there. We took a photo with all the Terps with the Maryland flag. It was a great time,” said Josh. “We even had a golf outing the day before” - pretty appropriate for the couple.
Kasey and Josh are now looking forward to buying a home together in the near future and still living in the Maryland area where their story together all began.
