Nearly 20 rhythmic athletes earned 11 medals at the Aphrodite Cup in Faliro, Greece, and the Marbella Grand Prix in Marbella, Spain this past weekend.

Aphrodite Cup

Olympian and reigning U.S. all-around, hoop and clubs champion Evita Griskenas (Orland Park, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center) won four medals at the Aphrodite Cup, while Olympian Lili Mizuno (Northbrook, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center) and juniors Erika Rusak (Auburn, Wash./Evergreen Rhythmics) and Natalia de la Rosa (Woodland Hills, Calif./Burlo Gymnastics) combined for four more medals.

Griskenas walked away from the Aphrodite cup with titles in clubs (30.600) and ribbon (30.800), silver in the all-around (121.250), and a bronze in hoop (31.900). Her score in all-around competition was topped only by Magdalina Minevska of Bulgaria, who totaled a 121.800 to take first.

Mizuno landed just off the all-around podium with a fourth-place 119.650, just behind Italy's Sophia Sicignano (119.700), but she earned bronze in ball with a 31.050. Her 27.150 landed her fifth in the ribbon final and she was eighth in hoop with a 30.050. In her senior debut, Sophia Volkov (Glenview, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center) placed eighth in the clubs final with a 26.600. Deanna Georgieva (Centennial, Colo./Zara Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy) also was in action and competed in all event qualifications.

Among the juniors, Rusak took silver in ribbon (27.450) and bronze in clubs (29.100), finishing top 10 in the 2008 all-around standings with a 110.450. De la Rosa clinched all-around gold in the 2010 division with a 110.300 and was sixth in ball with a 29.350.



In group competition, the Senior National Group of Izzy Connor (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.), Gergana Petkova (Barrington, Ill.), Katrine Sakhnov (Glencoe, Ill.), Karolina Saverino (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) and Hana Starkman (Deerfield, Ill.), also including Daria Merkulova (Vernon Hills, Ill.), all trainees at North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center, secured a medal in each event. The group claimed silver in the all-around (51.250) and five hoops final (29.700), and bronze in the three ribbons and two balls final with a 24.100.

Marbella Grand Prix

Senior National Team member Alexandria Kautzman (Simi Valley, Calif./California Rhythms) represented the U.S. at the Marbella Grand Prix in Spain. She scored a 114.750 in the all-around and competed in the ribbon (26.500), ball (28.950), hoop (29.150) and clubs (30.150) qualifications.