All-American Monday - Conny Falk

Conny Falk (1989-91)

Conny Falk was not recruited by the University of Miami. He showed up on the Coral Gables campus to visit his Swedish friend and fellow countryman Johan Donar. He liked what he saw so he went to the tennis office. Having never heard of Falk but hearing that a really good international player from Sweden was interested, coach John Hammill offered Falk a scholarship.

Born on Nov. 30, 1966, in Stockholm, Sweden, Falk earned a Swedish junior ranking of fourth before traveling west. As a junior he traveled to the U.S. and competed in tournaments like the Junior Orange Bowl, Sunshine Cup and Rolex in New York.

As a freshman, during the 1988-89 season, Falk earned All-American recognition after going 31-13 in singles play. As a result he was named the team’s MVP. Falk followed up his 31-win freshman season by posting a 36-9 singles mark in his sophomore year, becoming a NCAA semifinalist.

Over a two-month period during his sophomore campaign, Falk went 20-3, advancing to the quarters of the Rolex National Indoor Championships and winning the Vivitar National Collegiate Tennis Classis by a score of 6-3 and 6-2. Falk put together a nine-game and 10-match win streak.

Despite his impressive back to back 30+ win seasons, Falk outdid himself in his junior year. Falk, who started the year ranked No. 3 and fell to No. 14, ended his season with the No. 1 ranking in the nation, the first Hurricane, male or female, to attain that honor.

Falk finished his junior year with a 38-7 singles record and his Hurricanes career as a three-time All-American with a 105-29 overall mark, second only to fellow countryman Donar.

During his junior campaign, Falk would be named the Volvo Tennis National Collegiate Player of the Month for February after posting a perfect 13-0 record on his way to winning the Rolex National Indoor Championships and National Team Indoors Championships. Included in his perfect mark were victories over three top-10 players. Falk compiled an 8-2 mark against seven top-10 players and a 17-4 mark against the 17 opponents he faced who were ranked in the top-30 in the nation.

In addition to being named the Volvo Tennis National Collegiate Player of the Month for February, Falk became a member of the 1991 Rolex Collegiate All-Star Team, received the 1991 Head Arthur Ashe Jr. Sportsmanship Award for Region III and was a finalist for the National Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award. Falk would be named to the Dean’s List for his work in the classroom.