• Team of the Week: Rich tradition provides motivation for Pioneer girls tennis

Anna Borowicz paused as the topic came up.

The possibility of winning her third straight state title was obviously enticing.

But it’s also mid-April, a long time from the state tournament in the last weekend of May.

“It would be awesome to win,” Borowicz said. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up.”

Borowicz, the Pioneer senior, has won Division 1 doubles titles for two straight years. If she caps off her senior season with a third, Borowicz would become only the second player in the last decade to win three consecutive state titles at the Division 1 level. The other was Pioneer’s Paige Munroe, who won at No. 4 doubles in 2008, No. 2 in 2009 and No. 1 in 2010.

Borowicz is following a similar path moving up flights, going from No. 4 doubles as a sophomore to No. 3 last year. And she knows this title will be the hardest, as she and partner Sarah Court move up to No. 1 flight.

“We’re both kind of nervous because we’re playing No. 1 doubles and it’s kind of a big leap from 3 to 1,” Borowicz said. “We’ll see how we do this year. We’re taking it one day at a time.”

Borowicz and Court may be making a significant jump, but they’re doing it together. After winning a 2011 title with Shreya Bahl, Borowicz won last year’s title with Court, and will be paired with her for another year.

“We know how to play with each other,” Borowicz said.

As for how they’ll stack up against No. 1 doubles competition, it’s too soon to tell. Early season inclement weather has already wiped out one tournament and a matchup with Saline.

But if recent history is any indication, Pioneer’s top doubles team should be plenty competitive. At the last five state tournaments, Pioneer has taken home 11 of a possible 20 doubles state titles.

Borowicz and Court are one of two state title teams returning, along with Evie Van DeWege and Alyssa Roopas, who are moving from No. 4 to No. 3. In all, five doubles players are returning from last year’s lineup.

“We have strong doubles teams across the board,” Borowicz said.

And with a third state title on the line, Borowicz has plenty of motivation to be the strongest.

“I would say it’s motivating, yeah,” Borowicz said.

Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.