Honors & Awards
- Two-Time All-Big Eight (1985, 1986)
- Four-Time Big Eight Championships Competitor
(T3rd, 1986; 6th, 1985; 15th, 1984; 31st, 1983) - Big Eight Sportsmanship Award (1985)
- Nebraska Female Student-Athlete of the Year (1985-86)
- Nebraska Team Captain (1986)
- Member of Nebraska's 1983 Big Eight Championship Team
Senior (1985-86)
One of the top student-athletes in the early years of Nebraska women's golf, Kari Mangan was a standout performer on the course and in the classroom. As a senior in 1985-86, Mangan became the first Husker golfer to earn Nebraska Female Student-Athlete-of-the-Year honors. She capped her senior season on the course by tying for third place individually with a 233 to help NU to a third-place team finish at the Big Eight Championships at the Country Club of Lincoln.
Mangan's Big Eight Tournament performance included solid rounds of 79, 76 and 78 to earn her the second All-Big Eight award of her career, following a tie for sixth at the league championships in Manhattan, Kan., in 1985.
The Omaha native was rock solid from start to finish as a senior captain for the Huskers in 1985-86. She opened the season with three rounds of 79 to finish in ninth place (237) at the Gopher Fall Invitational. After a 251 at the OSU Cowgirl Invite and a 248 at the Nancy Lopez Invitational in Tulsa, Okla., Mangan posted a 161 in two rounds at the Alabama-Seascape Invitational. She fired a season-best 76 at the North Texas Lady Eagle, before matching that score in the second round at the Big Eight Championships.
Mangan was the only golfer to compete in all 23 rounds in the NU lineup in 1985-86, finishing with a team-best 81.57 stroke average. She closed her Nebraska career with an 82.33 stroke average over 89 rounds, posting NU's top average in both 1984-85 and 1985-86. Mangan competed in the Husker lineup in every round for each of her final three seasons and was a member of NU's lineup at the 1983 Big Eight Championships, when the Huskers captured their second league crown.
Junior (1984-85)
Mangan earned the first All-Big Eight honors of her career by finishing sixth (243) at the Big Eight Championships in Manhattan, Kan. Mangan, who also claimed the Big Eight Sportsmanship Award for women's golf, led Nebraska with a career-best 80.48 stroke average over a career-high 29 rounds as a junior.
The Omaha native fired 12 rounds of 79 or better, including a season-best 75 in the second round of the Purdue Lady Boilermaker to tune up for the Big Eight Championships. She also matched her season best with a 233 at Purdue, which she fired first (76-78-79-233) at the UNI Panther Invitational.
Mangan opened the season with a solid 242 at the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic, before producing an impressive 237 at the OSU Cowgirl Invite. After her 233 at Northern Iowa, she notched a 164 in two rounds at Kansas, before adding a 241, including a final-round 76 at the Mizzou Invitational.
She opened the spring season with a 240 at the Rayburn Country Classic, before managing a 250 at the OU Invite. Following a 249 at the Illini Spring Invitational, Mangan produced stellar season-ending efforts at the Lady Boilermaker and Big Eight Championships.
Sophomore (1983-84)
After getting a taste of collegiate competition as a freshman, Mangan became a steady contributor in the heart of the Husker lineup as a sophomore. She competed in all 27 rounds in the NU lineup, finishing with an 83.85 stroke average to rank third on the team behind only All-Big Eight seniors Cathy Nelson and Shelly Godeken.
Mangan capped a solid sophomore season by finishing 15th (250) at the Big Eight Championships in Columbia, Mo. She was NU's No. 4 finisher behind Nelson (2nd), Godeken (4th) and fellow sophomore Jean Gilpin (14th), helping the Huskers to a runner-up team finish.
Mangan produced her best tournament of the year with a 241 at the Lady Northern Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa. Her effort at the Lady Northern included a season-best 77 in the final round. She opened the season with a 252 at the Susie Maxwell Berning All-College Kickoff in Oklahoma City, before her performance in Iowa City. She followed with a solid 243 at the Mizzou Invite, before managing a 252 at the Kansas Invitational. She posted a 254, including a final-round 79 at the South Alabama Invitational, before struggling with a 261 at the OU Invite. She added a 255 at the Wichita State Invitational, before contributing a 256 at the Kansas State Invite to tune up for the Big Eight Championships.
Freshman (1982-83)
Despite finishing with Nebraska's highest individual stroke average (87.10 over 10 rounds), Mangan earned a spot in NU's lineup for the Big Eight Championships in Oklahoma City. In her first of four Big Eight Tournament appearances, Mangan finished 31st (273), helping the Huskers capture their second Big Eight title at the Quail Creek Country Club.
Mangan saw her first action of the year at the Mizzou Invitational where she posted a three-round score of 258. At the Iowa Invitational, she fired a season-best 79 in the first round on her way to a season-best 254 tournament score.
Personal
Mangan was named Nebraska's Female Student-Athlete of the Year for 1985-86, after posting better than a 3.7 GPA as an accounting major. She helped the Huskers post the highest team GPA of any sport in 1985-86 with a cumulative 3.14 GPA for the year.
Mangan's Career Statistics
Year
Rounds
Strokes
Avg.
Low 18
Low 54
1982-83
10
871
87.10
79
254
1983-84
27
2,264
83.85
77
241
1984-85
29
2,334
80.48
75
233
1985-86
23
1,876
81.57
76
233
Totals
89
7,345
82.53
75
233