American teams qualify first and third, advance to bracket match play at 2025 IBF World Cup
January 12, 2025
From left to right, Team USA Bowlers Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri; Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio; and Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois
FULL STANDINGS
HONG KONG – The Team USA men finished first in their qualifying group while the women secured third during Sunday’s final round of team qualifying at the 2025 International Bowling Federation World Cup, which is being contested at Top Bowl, Kai Tak Sports Park in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Those finishing positions were good enough to send both American squads through to the bracket match-play round in their respective divisions and keep their medal hopes alive.
After finishing Saturday’s opening qualifying round with a perfect 6-0 record, Team USA’s men’s foursome of Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois; Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri; and Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, authored a 5-2 mark on Sunday to finish with a two-day, 13-match record of 11-2.
That gave the Americans the top record among the 13 teams in Men’s Group A and officially moved Team USA into the Men’s Team Round of 16.
Saudia Arabia was second in Group A with a record of 10-3. Singapore was third at 9-4 while Denmark, Qatar, Costa Rica, Kuwait and Germany secured spots four through eight and advanced with matching records of 8-5.
There was a tie for the best record in Men’s Group B with China and Macao both finishing at 10-3. Puerto Rico and Peru were each one game back at 9-4 while Malaysia, the Philippines and Bermuda put up matching records of 8-5.
The eighth and final qualifying spot in Group B went to Thailand (7-6).
Despite dropping a pair of matches during Round 2 after going undefeated the day before, Via was very pleased with how he and his teammates performed during Sunday’s final qualifying block.
“We had another good day on the lanes today,” Via said. “Even though we lost a couple of times, we executed pretty well; a couple of hits just didn’t go our way. Still, our communication was still really good, and our ability to make moves and execute pair to pair has been great.”
Those trends will have to continue if Team USA hopes to reach the medal round and successfully defend the Men’s Team title it captured at the 2022 World Cup in Queensland, Australia.
Even though it won’t be easy, Via is confident this group has the right recipe for success.
“We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, keep the team morale really high and just keep talking through the process to make sure we’re all fully committed to every shot that we throw,” Via said. “If we can do that, I think we’ll be just fine.”
Shortly after Via and company finished up their final qualifying block, Team USA’s women’s squad of Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, and Lauren Russo of Ballwin, Missouri, hit the lanes looking to advance as well.
A few hours later that mission was accomplished as the Americans authored a 3-3 record during Sunday’s six-match block to finish third in the 13-team women’s field with a two-day record of 9-4, which was the same mark turned in by Germany and Macao.
Malaysia and the Philippines turned in the best marks with matching records of 11-2. China (8-5), Singapore (8-5) and Sweden (6-7) secured the final advancing positions by finishing in spots six through eight, respectively.
Even though the third-place finish put the Americans well inside qualifying position, according to Russo, Sunday’s block was anything but easy for the Team USA women.
“It was a very hard day; the lanes were a bit different, and a lot of our shot execution wasn’t too great,” Russo said. “We had some unfortunate breaks as well, which makes it feel like when you’re down, you’re really down. Still, we were resilient, and that allowed us to fight and come away with some points during the last couple of matches.”
The real fight lies ahead as Russo and her teammates look to earn their way back onto the podium after the Team USA women fell short of securing a Women’s Team medal at the 2022 World Cup.
“We came here to do some work, and the work is just getting started,” Russo said. “To accomplish our goals, it’s going to take more hard work, better shot execution, having fun and loving what we do.”
Bracket match-play competition in both the men’s and women’s divisions will start on Monday and continue until both fields are down to their final four teams.
The semifinals and finals in both the Men’s Team and Women’s Team competitions will be contested on Tuesday at Queen Elizabeth Stadium with medal ceremonies to follow.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.
FULL STANDINGS
HONG KONG – The Team USA men finished first in their qualifying group while the women secured third during Sunday’s final round of team qualifying at the 2025 International Bowling Federation World Cup, which is being contested at Top Bowl, Kai Tak Sports Park in Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
Those finishing positions were good enough to send both American squads through to the bracket match-play round in their respective divisions and keep their medal hopes alive.
After finishing Saturday’s opening qualifying round with a perfect 6-0 record, Team USA’s men’s foursome of Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois; Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri; and Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, authored a 5-2 mark on Sunday to finish with a two-day, 13-match record of 11-2.
That gave the Americans the top record among the 13 teams in Men’s Group A and officially moved Team USA into the Men’s Team Round of 16.
Saudia Arabia was second in Group A with a record of 10-3. Singapore was third at 9-4 while Denmark, Qatar, Costa Rica, Kuwait and Germany secured spots four through eight and advanced with matching records of 8-5.
There was a tie for the best record in Men’s Group B with China and Macao both finishing at 10-3. Puerto Rico and Peru were each one game back at 9-4 while Malaysia, the Philippines and Bermuda put up matching records of 8-5.
The eighth and final qualifying spot in Group B went to Thailand (7-6).
Despite dropping a pair of matches during Round 2 after going undefeated the day before, Via was very pleased with how he and his teammates performed during Sunday’s final qualifying block.
“We had another good day on the lanes today,” Via said. “Even though we lost a couple of times, we executed pretty well; a couple of hits just didn’t go our way. Still, our communication was still really good, and our ability to make moves and execute pair to pair has been great.”
Those trends will have to continue if Team USA hopes to reach the medal round and successfully defend the Men’s Team title it captured at the 2022 World Cup in Queensland, Australia.
Even though it won’t be easy, Via is confident this group has the right recipe for success.
“We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, keep the team morale really high and just keep talking through the process to make sure we’re all fully committed to every shot that we throw,” Via said. “If we can do that, I think we’ll be just fine.”
Shortly after Via and company finished up their final qualifying block, Team USA’s women’s squad of Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, and Lauren Russo of Ballwin, Missouri, hit the lanes looking to advance as well.
A few hours later that mission was accomplished as the Americans authored a 3-3 record during Sunday’s six-match block to finish third in the 13-team women’s field with a two-day record of 9-4, which was the same mark turned in by Germany and Macao.
Malaysia and the Philippines turned in the best marks with matching records of 11-2. China (8-5), Singapore (8-5) and Sweden (6-7) secured the final advancing positions by finishing in spots six through eight, respectively.
Even though the third-place finish put the Americans well inside qualifying position, according to Russo, Sunday’s block was anything but easy for the Team USA women.
“It was a very hard day; the lanes were a bit different, and a lot of our shot execution wasn’t too great,” Russo said. “We had some unfortunate breaks as well, which makes it feel like when you’re down, you’re really down. Still, we were resilient, and that allowed us to fight and come away with some points during the last couple of matches.”
The real fight lies ahead as Russo and her teammates look to earn their way back onto the podium after the Team USA women fell short of securing a Women’s Team medal at the 2022 World Cup.
“We came here to do some work, and the work is just getting started,” Russo said. “To accomplish our goals, it’s going to take more hard work, better shot execution, having fun and loving what we do.”
Bracket match-play competition in both the men’s and women’s divisions will start on Monday and continue until both fields are down to their final four teams.
The semifinals and finals in both the Men’s Team and Women’s Team competitions will be contested on Tuesday at Queen Elizabeth Stadium with medal ceremonies to follow.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.