University of Minnesota Athletics
Kate Hughes - M Club Hall of Fame
Women’s Golf, 1985-89
HOF Class of 2006
Kate Hughes set nearly every Gopher golf low-scoring record, captured seven tournament championships and was the first Gopher medalist at the Big Ten Championships, whose title she won in 1988 and 1989. In 1989, she was one of only four amateurs to qualify for the U.S. Open.
Team captain Hughes led the Gophers to their first NCAA Women’s Golf Championship appearance, in 1989. Finishing third, she rallied her team to a 12th place finish, the school’s best. She was Minnesota’s first golfer to earn All-America honors and its first Big Ten Player of the Year, and she earned All-Big Ten recognition in each of her final three years at Minnesota.
The business administration major was a two-time Academic All-American, a three-time Patty Berg Award recipient and three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. The Woodbury, MN native received the Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor for athletic and scholastic accomplishment in 1989.