Weddings

Beth Marushak and Brian Bersticker both came to UNC on athletic scholarships: Beth played golf and Brian played basketball. Although they attended UNC at different times, a mutual friend introduced them, and the two Tar Heels hit it off from the very start.

For their first date, Beth rushed home from golf practice and got all dressed up for dinner, only to have Brian pick her up in a Jeep Wrangler with the top down. But it was no big deal for the easy-going couple. They followed up their first date with a second, this time to the movies. When the two athletes made a quick stop for some New York-style pizza afterward, they discovered their mutual love for a good slice.

Brian proposed in July 2009 during a family beach trip to Nags Head. With a bit of coaxing, he lured the unsuspecting Beth down to the beach early one morning, where he got down on one knee in the sand to propose as the sun was rising over the Atlantic.

The ceremony took place in the Hill Courtyard of The Carolina Inn with a reception following in the Old Well Wing.

In attendance were the bride’s parents, Jim and Brenda Marushak of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the groom’s mother, Anita Bersticker, and her boyfriend, Lee Pitchford, both of Elizabeth City. Brian is also the son of the late Keith Bersticker.

The couple reside in Raleigh with their cat, Divot. Beth works for Vaco, and Brian works in UNC’s athletic ticket office. CHM