A tale of sailboats & drivers tests: How Pompton Lakes’ Charlotte Yates became a Passaic County tennis contender

By BOB SHWALB

SPECIAL TO THE RECORD

Charlotte Yates had never picked up a racket before that day.

She arrived at Pompton Lakes’ first tennis practice as a freshman, ready to try something new.It was one chapter in a winding journey that included sailboats and a driving test that steered Yates toward the top of the Passaic County tennis pack. The senior will try to reach the shore today as she begins her quest for the Passaic County Tournament first-singles crown.

“If someone told me four years ago that I’d be doing this, I would’ve said, ‘You’re crazy,”Yates said.

Her improbable voyage began at Lakeland Middle School, where Pompton Lakes tennis coach Matthew Hales was one of her teachers. Hales saw Yates’ height (then 5-foot-8, now 5-foot-10) and slender. athletic build and encouraged her to come out for the team.

http://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/a-tale-of-sailboats-drivers-tests-how-pompton-lakes-charlotte-yates-became-a-passaic-county-tennis-contender-1.1667140