Karen Yarasavage ’87, the former Yale women’s basketball team MVP and captain, will be honored as a Legend of Ivy League Basketball at the upcoming Ivy League Basketball Tournament. This is the latest honor for Yarasavage, who was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994.

As a senior in 1986-87, Yarasavage captained the Bulldogs to a 9-5 record in Ivy League play. She was a first team All-Ivy selection and was chosen as the team's Most Valuable Player. A forward, she led the Bulldogs in rebounding (7.2 per game) and was second in scoring (13.0 points per game). 

Yarasavage was second on the team in field goal percentage (.517) and third on the team in rebounding (5.7 per game) as a junior in 1985-86.

In addition to excelling for the basketball team Yarasavage was a four-time All-Ivy League honoree for the Yale softball team, earning first-team honors three times. She graduated with a degree in psychology. 

Prior to her career at Yale Yarasavage was a three-time all-state selection at nearby Milford High School, where she played in two consecutive Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class M championship games.

Yarasavage’s legacy with the Yale women’s basketball program was recognized in 2006 with the institution of the Karen Yarasavage Award at the annual year-end team banquet. The award is presented to the player who most displays the attributes of grit and determination, her trademarks.

The generosity of Yarasavage and her husband, Yale men’s soccer alum Kevin Genda ’87, is reflected in multiple Yale facilities. The press box at Reese Stadium (home of the Yale soccer and lacrosse teams) and the softball field at DeWitt Family Stadium are both named after the “5K Corral” – Yarasavage, her husband and their three children all have first names that start with the letter K. Yale’s men’s soccer head coach position is also named after the 5K Corral.