Maryland Love Connection: Bryn and Abby Holmes

Abby and Bryn Holmes’ story began long before they even stepped foot on the University of Maryland’s campus. If anything, their time at Maryland only solidified their relationship even further. 

The Holmeses initially met at the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland where they happened to be placed in the same class. Soon after, they began talking and officially became a couple in the 10th grade. By the end of their senior year of high school, the pair were voted “Most in Love” by their fellow classmates.

Bryn was recruited to play lacrosse at Maryland, while Abby attended and played lacrosse at William & Mary before eventually transferring to Maryland for her sophomore year.  

For a whole year, they made their long-distance relationship work. Bryn would visit Abby almost every other weekend throughout the fall semester and during their offseasons.  

“When Abby transferred to Maryland, it solidified the feelings I had all along.” Bryn said. 

After a year of waiting, the couple was finally back in each other’s vicinity. As with any college relationship, life got hectic and overwhelming, but the two made it work.

“We were both on the same type of schedule. We were both super busy between school and sports so I think it helped that one person was not on a totally different schedule or commitment than the other,” Abby said.

Balancing the life of being student-athletes while being in a relationship appeared to be a challenge that the couple welcomed with open arms. 

“Since we had been dating for a while before we were in college, I thought it was actually really helpful to have someone who knew me so well. We were able to support each other through any challenges either of us faced,” Bryn noted. 

Abby further confirmed this sentiment by sharing the following:

“We started dating when I was 15 and he was 16, so we had grown up so much together that we knew each other and what we needed so well. We both were on the same type of schedule, we both supported each other, and most of our friends were on our teams.”

Bryn was a standout faceoff specialist and defensive midfielder for the Terps from 2007-10. His determination and grit served him well at the X, where he finished his career among the top 10 in faceoffs won and taken (and still ranks 13th and 10th, respectively). 

Bryn’s toughness, an undoubtable trait of the legendary Holmes family, was unknown to most his senior season when he suffered a torn labrum, but still took 275 of the team’s 369 faceoffs and had a 54.2 winning percentage, and scooped up a team-best 69 groundballs.

Abby played for the Terps from 2008-10 and became a mainstay on the defensive unit. As a senior in 2010, she started all 23 games for the Terrapins and helped lead the team to a 22-1 record, including a 13-11 victory over Northwestern in the National Championship game.

When they weren’t immersed in sports or school, you could easily find the couple on their weekly visits to Coldstone. 

“I have a big sweet tooth and so I always wanted to go to Coldstone. I think he took me to Coldstone at least two times a week in the evenings just to deal with my sweet tooth,” Abby recounted with a laugh.  

In terms of knowing whether they were “the ones” for one another, Abby and Bryn simply felt it out all along.

“I wouldn't say there was a specific moment where I knew Abby was ‘the one,’ but when we were in high school and we would spend a lot of time with each other's families, I knew she was ‘the one’ I wanted to hold on to,” Bryn recalled.

A month after graduation, Bryn popped the question. The couple got married the following summer, moved into an apartment soon after, and each respectively entered the workforce. 

“We were kind of the first couple from our graduating class and from all of our friends to get married. About a year and a half later we had our first kid,” Abby said.

Since then, life has been busy for the Holmes family to say the least. Abby is a financial advisor. Two years ago, she joined a few of her colleagues in starting Brightside Partners, a financial advisory firm in Baltimore, Maryland. Bryn, on the other hand, has been the Assistant Athletics Director and the wrestling coach at the Gilman School, their former alma mater’s rival school. 

The Holmeses currently reside in the Baltimore area with their four children: a nine-year-old daughter, a six-year-old son, a three-year-old daughter, and a newborn daughter who arrived in March. 

“Raising a family together has been great. Everyone that knows us would agree that Abby is the perfect partner for me. She, like most wives and mothers, is the glue for our family,” Bryn said. 

Although their life might be jam-packed with responsibilities right now, you can still find the Holmes family catching a lacrosse game and reminiscing on their times at the University of Maryland.