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Amy Scherzer's Diary

So close, yet so far away

Growing up, they lived miles apart and attended the same college. But after volleying on a court date, it was love all for these newlyweds.

By AMY SCHERZER
Published August 26, 2005

DAVIS ISLANDS - South Tampa isn't as small as you might think. Brad Bassler and Ashley Mullis lived a couple of miles apart their entire lives: He on Davis Islands; she in Palma Ceia. Their parallel paths never crossed until last year when they met at a Gasparilla party.

Bassler followed the Gorrie-Wilson-Plant route, class of 1993 and third-ranked on the tennis team.

Mullis started at St. Mary's Episcopal Day School and graduated from Berkeley Prep where she helped the volleyball team win the Class A state championship four years in a row.

Both went on to the University of Florida where Mullis earned All-American honors and finished her volleyball career fourth on Florida's kills list (1,162). The outside hitter helped UF to the Final Four in 1993 while earning a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1996.

Bassler never missed a UF football game in college - nor has he since - but he never made it to a volleyball match. One of his best friends dated one of Mullis' Berkeley teammates, and still they never connected.

They didn't meet at a Bikers' Bash, either, at Bassler's fraternity, Sigma Chi. Both attended with other dates.

With a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Bassler, 30, started his career with Exactech, an orthopedic implant manufacturer in Gainesville.

Mullis, 31, moved west to Beaver Creek, Colo., with an idea of becoming a sportscaster. In between waitressing and snowboarding, she broadcast live snow reports for a local TV station.

Her UF volleyball coach recruited her to play exhibition games in Europe in May 1998. The 5-foot-11 hitter caught the eye of a Belgian team manager who signed her to a 10-month contract near Brussels.

When she returned to Tampa, Mullis got a real estate license, like her mother Anne, a broker associate with Smith & Associates Realtors. She pursued a master's degree in elementary education at the University of South Florida.

In fall 2000, deja vu. Mullis began teaching at her alma mater, St. Mary's, and coaching volleyball and other sports. Last year, her girls' team was undefeated.

A year later, Bassler moved back to Tampa to develop medical devices for Liquidmetal Technologies. He has a patent pending as coinventor of a cardiac stent. The company did not live up to its potential, he said, and the Tampa operation closed three years later.

He declined an offer to work for them in California and formed his own company, Eternalloy Medical Technologies, with three partners. Their Safety Harbor plant develops diffusion treatment processes to coat implants and instruments to increase durability.

The couple didn't meet at Home Depot, either, after both bought houses near where they grew up.

Finally, face time at a Gasparilla party in February 2004. Mullis' father, Hal, is captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla and in line to be king in 2007.

"My friends were all debutantes and ran for queen or the court, but I never had time," she said. "Volleyball always took precedence."

Bassler wasn't too enthused about the party until his buddy showed him a picture of Mullis and said she'd be there.

He introduced himself that night. "Where have you been all my life?" would have been a perfect pickup line.

Mullis asked friends to invite him to her 30th birthday karaoke party a few weeks later. She was disappointed when she heard he got stuck in Gainesville, where he was studying for a master's in business administration on the weekends.

At last, they met up for drinks at Splitsville in Channelside. Quick courting led to court time when Mullis asked him to fill in as a fourth for tennis the next morning.

"He was better than all of us put together," she said.

The two jocks found other matchups. She belonged to the Tampa Yacht and Country Club; he has a membership to Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club. Mullis has season tickets to the Tampa Bay Bucs; Bassler has the UF season tickets.

They ran Bayshore Boulevard almost every day to train for the Covered Bridges Half Marathon in Woodstock, Vt., in June 2004. During a trip to the Bahamas this February, Bassler proposed.

"It was a graduation trip because we both finished our master's," Bassler said.

In his computer bag, he hid a diamond ring and a bottle of Dom Perignon.

"I was freaking out that customs would open my bag and she'd see them," he said. A delay in their departure time added more stress. He wanted to be there in time to propose at sunset.

As soon as they arrived, he suggested they head to the beach.

Mullis walked and talked, oblivious to what was coming.

"We never once talked about marriage," she said.

The pair hustled to plan a summer wedding so they could honeymoon during Mullis' school vacation.

On July 30, more than 600 guests witnessed their vows at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church followed by a reception at the Tampa Yacht Club. The newlyweds departed by boat, cruising to the Marriott Waterside Hotel before a week of golf and snorkeling on Kauai.

After 30 years on divergent routes, they've happily returned to their South Tampa roots.

To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com

SUNDAY: Brides Around the World benefits St. Joseph's Women's Hospital; high tea and bridal fashion show; 2-5 p.m.; Hyatt Regency Tampa; $35; 872-0979.

THURSDAY: Centre for Women's 14th Gourmet Feastival; tastings from 40 restaurants; age 21 and up; Tampa Convention Center; 5:30-9 p.m.; $40 in advance, $50 at the door; 251-8437, ext. 225.

SEPT. 16: Ybor City Chamber of Commerce 40th annual gala, Cesar Gonzmart Award to the Buster Agliano family; black tie; 6:30 p.m.; Columbia Restaurant; 248-3712.

SEPT. 17: Vineyard of Oz fourth annual winetasting benefit for Tampa Theatre; 711 N Franklin St.; $80 for Ruby patrons at 6 p.m., $50 for Yellow patrons at 7 p.m. grand tasting, $5 discount for members; 274-8680.

SEPT. 17: Club 15 Black and White Gala benefits Children's Cancer Center and other charities; Hyatt Regency Tampa; 7 p.m.; $80; 293-9316.

[Last modified August 25, 2005, 09:36:09]