HERSHEY With his high school tennis career slipping dangerously close to extinction, Henry Paiste showed the heart of a champion.

Paiste is hoping that effort will pave the way to a PIAA championship.Locked in an intense match with freshman phenom Luke Phillips of Carlynton, Paiste reeled off the final six points of a third set tie-breaker to pull out a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) victory.Paiste's quarterfinal round win - which came on the heels of an opening round straight set victory earlier in the day - propels him into today's Class AA Singles semifinals."It crossed my mind in the beginning of the tie-breaker that this could be the end of my high school tennis career," said Paiste. "Obviously, I didn't want that to happen and I tried to dig down deep and give it everything I had to make sure it didn't."He (Phillips) was a great player. I didn't know a lot about him, but I could tell right from the get-go that he was a strong player. Until the very last point, the match could have went either way."After the players split a pair of 6-4 wins in the opening two sets, the third set provided edge of the seat drama, that drew spectators from throughout the complex to peer in on the match. The ever-growing crowd included almost the entire District 11 delegation as players, coaches and fans from Pleasant Valley, Moravian Academy and Bethlehem Freedom watched the action."There is definitely a special vibe you get playing in the state championships," said Paiste. "You're playing in front of bigger crowds than in any other tournament you've ever played in and that creates a great atmosphere."This is my fourth state tournament and it never gets old. It is still such an exciting feeling to play out here. In that third set I was able to feed off the energy of all the people pulling for me."Neither player led by more than a game in the deciding set as momentum swung back-and-forth on almost a point-by-point basis.Paiste was a game away from victory at both 5-4 and 6-5 but both times Phillips held served and extended the match.In the tie-breaker, Phillips led 3-1 before Paiste fought back.He started the rally with a beautiful volley at the net and eventually took a 4-3 lead when Phillips double faulted for one of the few times in the match. A baseline winner and a service winner followed to put Paiste ahead 6-3 and give him a triple-match point. He needed just one of them when a Phillips drop shot floated into the net."This was the most hard fought match I've had in my four years at States," said Paiste about the two hour and 24 minute marathon. "I've never had another match at states - whether it was a win or a loss - that went three sets."I don't know how well I played, but I do know that I left my heart out on the court. I wasn't walking off the court knowing that I didn't give everything I had."Paiste opened his day with an incredibly efficient, 6-0, 6-0 victory over District 9 champ Alan Brennan of Elk County Catholic.Paiste lost a total of just seven points in the entire match and Brennan never won more than a point in any game. The match lasted just 34 minutes."I wanted to concentrate on playing well early because I knew if I was fortunate enough to be playing later in the tournament, the matches would be tougher and longer," said Paiste following his opening win.In the end, that turned out to be very prophetic, because Paiste needed every extra drop of energy to defeat Phillips.Paiste advances to the second day of the tournament for the second straight season. A year ago, he fell in the semifinals and eventually finished fourth after losing to Andre Fick of Wyomissing in the consolation match.He'll get a chance to avenge that loss to Fick this morning at 9 a.m. when they meet up in the semifinals.Just two victories away from a PIAA State Championship, Paiste has already proven he has the heart of a champion.Now he just wants the gold medal that proves he is one.