Boo Major has done it again. After her team won the equestrian 2015 National Championship, the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) named Major Coach of the Year on Monday, a year after her first Coach of the Year honor.
"I am very humbled to receive this award from my coaching peers, but as with any individual award, it's one that I am honored to share with a special group of people," Major said. "This past year was an interesting one for us as it was filled with many great moments but also some challenging ones."
An alumna of South Carolina, Major in her 17th season lead the Gamecocks to a 12-5 record. South Carolina had a rough first part of the year, losing their first two meets. Then they went on a eight-meet winning streak. During that streak, they beat three eventual conference champions in Fresno St., Georgia and Baylor. When the SEC championships came around at the end of April, the Gamecocks were ranked first, but fell in two straight matches to Texas A&M and Auburn. A little under a month later, the Gamecocks landed a number three seed in the NCEA National Championships. Major and her team went on to win three straight matchups against Fresno St., Baylor and No. 1 Georgia to claim the championship title.
"This past year was an interesting one for us as it was filled with many great moments but also some challenging ones," Major said. "I was proud to see our team react in such a positive way each time a challenge presented itself, and I think the character of this year's team more than anything is why we were able to win the national championship."