Pluhowsky closes out 2025 PWBA Tour season with her second Tour Championship title
August 13, 2025
Stepladder Results
Final Results
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The legacy continues to build for Shannon Pluhowsky out of Dayton, Ohio, who won her third major and sixth overall title to close out the 2025 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour season with back-to-back wins at ABC Gates Bowl in Rochester, New York. Pluhowsky defeated No. 2 Verity Crawley of England, 235-167, in the title match, denying Crawley her first major, which was broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
It was a tale of two halves for the left-handed Pluhowsky, who struck just once and left the 4-6-10 split after the fifth frame for 85 through five frames, but struck before the commercial break midway through the game. Crawley wasn’t faring much better, opening twice and having two strikes before the commercial break with 70 through five frames.
Pluhowsky came out of the break with a double and Crawley matched it, but another two strikes for Pluhowsky put pressure on Crawley. The English bowler threw another great shot but the 10 pin stood standing, cushioning the lead for Pluhowsky.
Heading into the ninth frame, Pluhowsky needed a strike there and another one in the 10th to lock up the major title. She did exactly that and punched out for 235, earning $50,000 and the title. Crawley split in the 10th for 167, earning $25,000 for her runner-up finish.
“I wasn’t having the best season overall but I’m happy to end it on a high note,” Pluhowsky said, who won the PWBA Pepsi Open on August 9 to become eligible for the PWBA Hall of Fame. “You never know when you’re going to get here again, (my family) has been there through a lot of the heartbreaks so it’s nice to have the victory here.”
Heartbreaking losses have plagued Pluhowsky as a top seed, who was 0-3 on TV prior to tonight’s win.
“It’s nice (to win as the No. 1 seed), although even if I was 0-50, I would rather only have to bowl one game on TV for the title,” said Pluhowsky. “It’s 10 shots, much easier and the lanes don’t transition as much.”
The Ohioan started Tour Championship Week 31st in points before a seventh-place finish at the Rochester Open bumped her up to 25th, then made sure she would be in the season-ending Tour Championship with her Pepsi Open win, seeding her in 13th.
After 24 games of match play, Pluhowsky found herself as the top seed for the live telecast and waited three games to see who her opponent would be. Crawley advanced to the title match after a 233-215 win over Stephanie Zavala of Long Beach, California.
The No. 5 seeded Zavala was making a run up the ladder after defeating No. 4 seed Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, 185-150, and No. 3 seed Lauren Russo of O’Fallon, Missouri, 233-170, bringing all the momentum against Crawley. Snodgrass earned $10,000 for fifth while Russo earned $12,000 for fourth.
The semifinals between Zavala and Crawley saw Crawley start pulling away with a string of five strikes while Zavala struggled to get the 10 pin out on the left lane her first four tries on it, converting all of them. Things became interesting when Crawley missed a 10 pin of her own and Zavala finally struck on the left lane, but a double for Crawley wrapped the match up with a 233 to Zavala’s 215. The third-place finish earned Zavala $15,000.
PWBA Player of the Year honors were also awarded to Singapore’s New Hui Fen during the telecast, leading the tour in points (94,550) and wins with three, including the U.S. Women’s Open. Snodgrass was the only one who had a chance against New and had the opportunity to capture her second Player of the Year with a win over Zavala, but will finish runner-up in points with 93,125.
The 2025 PWBA National Tour season began in May with the PWBA Go Bowling Topeka Open and included three majors, while the PWBA Regional Tour continues on August 17 with the PWBA Columbus Regional in Columbus, Ohio. For more information on the PWBA Regional Tour, visit PWBA.com/regional-tour.
In 2026, the PWBA National Tour will start in Rockford, Illinois. For more information, visit PWBA.com/national-tour.
Final Results
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The legacy continues to build for Shannon Pluhowsky out of Dayton, Ohio, who won her third major and sixth overall title to close out the 2025 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour season with back-to-back wins at ABC Gates Bowl in Rochester, New York. Pluhowsky defeated No. 2 Verity Crawley of England, 235-167, in the title match, denying Crawley her first major, which was broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
It was a tale of two halves for the left-handed Pluhowsky, who struck just once and left the 4-6-10 split after the fifth frame for 85 through five frames, but struck before the commercial break midway through the game. Crawley wasn’t faring much better, opening twice and having two strikes before the commercial break with 70 through five frames.
Pluhowsky came out of the break with a double and Crawley matched it, but another two strikes for Pluhowsky put pressure on Crawley. The English bowler threw another great shot but the 10 pin stood standing, cushioning the lead for Pluhowsky.
Heading into the ninth frame, Pluhowsky needed a strike there and another one in the 10th to lock up the major title. She did exactly that and punched out for 235, earning $50,000 and the title. Crawley split in the 10th for 167, earning $25,000 for her runner-up finish.
“I wasn’t having the best season overall but I’m happy to end it on a high note,” Pluhowsky said, who won the PWBA Pepsi Open on August 9 to become eligible for the PWBA Hall of Fame. “You never know when you’re going to get here again, (my family) has been there through a lot of the heartbreaks so it’s nice to have the victory here.”
Heartbreaking losses have plagued Pluhowsky as a top seed, who was 0-3 on TV prior to tonight’s win.
“It’s nice (to win as the No. 1 seed), although even if I was 0-50, I would rather only have to bowl one game on TV for the title,” said Pluhowsky. “It’s 10 shots, much easier and the lanes don’t transition as much.”
The Ohioan started Tour Championship Week 31st in points before a seventh-place finish at the Rochester Open bumped her up to 25th, then made sure she would be in the season-ending Tour Championship with her Pepsi Open win, seeding her in 13th.
After 24 games of match play, Pluhowsky found herself as the top seed for the live telecast and waited three games to see who her opponent would be. Crawley advanced to the title match after a 233-215 win over Stephanie Zavala of Long Beach, California.
The No. 5 seeded Zavala was making a run up the ladder after defeating No. 4 seed Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, 185-150, and No. 3 seed Lauren Russo of O’Fallon, Missouri, 233-170, bringing all the momentum against Crawley. Snodgrass earned $10,000 for fifth while Russo earned $12,000 for fourth.
The semifinals between Zavala and Crawley saw Crawley start pulling away with a string of five strikes while Zavala struggled to get the 10 pin out on the left lane her first four tries on it, converting all of them. Things became interesting when Crawley missed a 10 pin of her own and Zavala finally struck on the left lane, but a double for Crawley wrapped the match up with a 233 to Zavala’s 215. The third-place finish earned Zavala $15,000.
PWBA Player of the Year honors were also awarded to Singapore’s New Hui Fen during the telecast, leading the tour in points (94,550) and wins with three, including the U.S. Women’s Open. Snodgrass was the only one who had a chance against New and had the opportunity to capture her second Player of the Year with a win over Zavala, but will finish runner-up in points with 93,125.
The 2025 PWBA National Tour season began in May with the PWBA Go Bowling Topeka Open and included three majors, while the PWBA Regional Tour continues on August 17 with the PWBA Columbus Regional in Columbus, Ohio. For more information on the PWBA Regional Tour, visit PWBA.com/regional-tour.
In 2026, the PWBA National Tour will start in Rockford, Illinois. For more information, visit PWBA.com/national-tour.