Additionally, Sonia Smagina landed at No. 81 on the individual rankings while the doubles team of Malkia Ngounoue and Carmen Roxana Manu landed at No. 49 in the preseason rankings.
Kansas received this top-tier recognition due, in fact, to the strong finish to the 2019-20 season going 7-4 on the abbreviated season due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Kansas notched the first victory of the 2021 season at Tulsa (4-3) back on January 31. The Jayhawks would proceed to mount a win streak that included multiple back-to-back wins, taking 5-of-8 of their matches. Tulsa (4-3): Kansas took the doubles point behind strong performances from Smagina and Vasiliki Karvouni 6-2 and Julia Deming and Tiffany Lagarde 7-6. In singles play, the Jayhawks tallied victories via Karvouni (6-4, 6-1), Manu (6-4, 7-6 [10-7]) and Ngounoue (6-3, 7-5).