Pluhowsky, Brandolino on track to advance in World Cup Women's Singles
October 15, 2026
Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, (left) and Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, turned in strong efforts on Day 1 of Women's Singles qualifying at the 2026 IBF World Cup in Munich on Thursday, posting a combined record of 13-1 to put themselves inside the cut line in their respective pools heading into the final six games of the opening round.
FULL RESULTS
ARLINGTON, Texas – Americans Shannon Pluhowsky and Gianna Brandolino posted a combined record of 13-1 on Thursday to put themselves in advancing position after Day 1 of Women’s Singles qualifying at the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Cup in Germany.
Pluhowsky, a 44-year-old left-hander from Dayton, Ohio, with more than 25 years of Team USA experience, led the way at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal. She went a perfect 7-0 on the day with a 191 average, highlighted by games of 237 and 210.
That effort allowed Pluhowsky to finish the opening block with 21 points, which landed her in second place among 13 athletes in Women’s Singles Group D – Pool 1.
Each victory in the head-to-head match-play format is worth three points, while ties award each athlete one point.
Denmark’s Karen Kaergaard Nielsen led Group D – Pool 1, matching Pluhowsky’s undefeated record (7-0) and point total (21) but claiming the tiebreaker thanks to a higher Round 1 average at 191.1.
The other advancing positions in the pool currently are held by Danielle Escolano of the Philippines (5-2; 191.1 average) and Australia’s Brianna Walsh (5-2; 182.9 average), who finished the day in third and fourth place, respectively, with 15 points each.
Meanwhile, Brandolino, a 19-year-old right-hander from Channahon, Illinois, who is making her debut appearance for Team USA’s adult team, led Group B – Pool 1 with 18 points, which she earned thanks to a 6-1 record and 204.3 average. Brandolino’s block included three games of 211 or better (211, 213, 267).
Norway’s Madelen Thorsrudhagen Danielsen (6-1) also finished Thursday’s set with 18 points, but her average (172.9) was more than 30 pins lower than Brandolino’s, giving the American first place in the opening-round standings and forcing Nielsen to settle for second.
Malaysia’s Adelia Nur Irwan Syazalee (5-2; 187 average) placed third in the 12-player pool on Thursday, while Louna Martin Ponsoda of Spain (5-2; 164.6 average) finished fourth. Both competitors ended the day with 15 points.
Team USA athletes Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, and Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, find themselves on the outside looking in after Day 1 of Women’s Singles qualifying with Snodgrass (4-3; 180.4 average) sitting sixth in Group A – Pool 2 with 12 points, while Martin (3-4; 204.3 average) is eighth in Group C – Pool 2 with nine.
Snodgrass and Martin aren’t done yet, however, as all Women’s Singles competitors have six more matches in front of them before the first cuts are made.
Snodgrass and Brandolino will complete their second singles block in Munich on Friday, while Pluhowsky and Martin will have one day off before wrapping up singles qualifying on Saturday.
In all, 32 athletes will advance and earn spots in the Women’s Singles bracket. The top four in each group and pool after Day 1 are as follows:
Nevertheless, she admitted to being a bit anxious prior to the start of competition on Thursday.
“I was very nervous going in, so I was happy that my first adult shot was a strike and that I started with 267,” Brandolino said. “This is my first adult tournament for Team USA, so it’s exciting that it went well. Now that I have this block under my belt, I just need to reset mentally and get back to it tomorrow.”
While Brandolino was looking to come out of the gate quickly, Pluhowsky was more focused on the long game, using Thursday’s set to get a handle on how best to attack the 44-foot World Cup oil pattern during the remainder of Women’s Singles competition and during the all-important team event.
“I was trying to use today to learn a little bit,” Pluhowsky said. “I thought the lanes played a little bit different today than how they did during practice. There was more hook in the front, which we weren’t really expecting, so we had to feel out the matches to decide if we could experiment or if we needed to buckle down and make good shots to win. We’re trying to learn as much as we can for team event so that we can figure out some surfaces depending on which end we bowl on.”
Despite sitting in eighth place in her pool after opening day, Martin felt like she made plenty of good shots in her own right on Thursday. As such, the 22-year-old right-hander is still very confident heading into the final six games of Women’s Singles qualifying.
“I made good shots, so I feel pretty good,” Martin said. “We’re just trying to control what we can control and go from there. I had the second-highest average in my pool, so I felt like I had a pretty good block. I’m just going to try to win some more matches on Saturday and see what happens.”
In addition to watching Games 8-13 for Snodgrass and Brandolino at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal on Friday, Martin and Pluhowsky also will have the opportunity to watch Team USA’s Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, complete Round 1 of Men’s Singles qualifying.
In the men’s division for singles, each competitor is placed in a 12-player pool for 11 games of match play. Each victory in the head-to-head format is worth three points, while ties award each athlete one point.
Each of the four groups (A, B, C and D) in Men’s Singles features four pools (1, 2, 3 and 4), and the top two in points from each pool earn a spot in the 32-player men’s bracket.
Team USA’s Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, and Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas, completed their blocks on Wednesday, but both athletes were unable to advance to the next round as Hanrahan (8-3; 210.5 average) finished third in Group B – Pool 2 with 24 points, while Anderson (7-4; 197.9 average) was fourth in Group A – Pool 4 with 21 points.
That means the remaining Men’s Singles medal hopes among American men lie with Via, who will bowl on Friday and Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas, who will complete his 11-game block of singles qualifying on Saturday morning.
At the conclusion of Saturday’s rounds, both brackets will be set for singles. Sunday’s schedule will feature each round in the single-elimination bracket until the top two athletes in each division emerge and bowl for the title. Each round will feature a best-of-three format.
The focus will switch to team competition Monday in Munich, with four groups in the men’s division and two groups on the women’s side.
Similar to the singles portion of the event, each team in the men’s division will bowl 11 matches against the other countries in their group. The women’s division will feature 13 matches in each group. These contests will take place across Monday and Tuesday.
Each match during these blocks will implement the Baker format and be conducted as a best-of-three contest. Countries will be awarded three points for every victory.
The top four teams in each group on the men’s side and top eight from each group in the women’s division will advance to their respective 16-team bracket.
The final day of competition during the 2026 World Cup will be Oct. 21, as all advancing teams look to navigate their way through the single-elimination bracket to take home the coveted win.
All bracket matches will feature a best-of-five Baker format to determine the winner.
Malaysia enters this year’s event as the defending team champion in the men’s division, while the United States is looking for back-to-back titles on the women’s side at the World Cup. The group representing Team USA during the 2024 event in Hong Kong included Martin, Pluhowsky, Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, and Lauren Russo of Ballwin, Missouri.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.
FULL RESULTS
ARLINGTON, Texas – Americans Shannon Pluhowsky and Gianna Brandolino posted a combined record of 13-1 on Thursday to put themselves in advancing position after Day 1 of Women’s Singles qualifying at the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Cup in Germany.
Pluhowsky, a 44-year-old left-hander from Dayton, Ohio, with more than 25 years of Team USA experience, led the way at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal. She went a perfect 7-0 on the day with a 191 average, highlighted by games of 237 and 210.
That effort allowed Pluhowsky to finish the opening block with 21 points, which landed her in second place among 13 athletes in Women’s Singles Group D – Pool 1.
Each victory in the head-to-head match-play format is worth three points, while ties award each athlete one point.
Denmark’s Karen Kaergaard Nielsen led Group D – Pool 1, matching Pluhowsky’s undefeated record (7-0) and point total (21) but claiming the tiebreaker thanks to a higher Round 1 average at 191.1.
The other advancing positions in the pool currently are held by Danielle Escolano of the Philippines (5-2; 191.1 average) and Australia’s Brianna Walsh (5-2; 182.9 average), who finished the day in third and fourth place, respectively, with 15 points each.
Meanwhile, Brandolino, a 19-year-old right-hander from Channahon, Illinois, who is making her debut appearance for Team USA’s adult team, led Group B – Pool 1 with 18 points, which she earned thanks to a 6-1 record and 204.3 average. Brandolino’s block included three games of 211 or better (211, 213, 267).
Norway’s Madelen Thorsrudhagen Danielsen (6-1) also finished Thursday’s set with 18 points, but her average (172.9) was more than 30 pins lower than Brandolino’s, giving the American first place in the opening-round standings and forcing Nielsen to settle for second.
Malaysia’s Adelia Nur Irwan Syazalee (5-2; 187 average) placed third in the 12-player pool on Thursday, while Louna Martin Ponsoda of Spain (5-2; 164.6 average) finished fourth. Both competitors ended the day with 15 points.
Team USA athletes Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, and Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, find themselves on the outside looking in after Day 1 of Women’s Singles qualifying with Snodgrass (4-3; 180.4 average) sitting sixth in Group A – Pool 2 with 12 points, while Martin (3-4; 204.3 average) is eighth in Group C – Pool 2 with nine.
Snodgrass and Martin aren’t done yet, however, as all Women’s Singles competitors have six more matches in front of them before the first cuts are made.
Snodgrass and Brandolino will complete their second singles block in Munich on Friday, while Pluhowsky and Martin will have one day off before wrapping up singles qualifying on Saturday.
In all, 32 athletes will advance and earn spots in the Women’s Singles bracket. The top four in each group and pool after Day 1 are as follows:
- Group A – Pool 1
- Samantha Clifton, Australia, 18 points
- Daria Pajak, Poland, 15 points
- Manon Clement, France, 15 points
- Alexandra Giannadaki, Greece, 15 points
- Group A – Pool 2
- Shayna Ng, Singapore, 21 points
- Victoria Johansson, Sweden, 18 points
- Rui Peng, China, 15 points
- Ana Patricia Morales Ruiz, Guatemala, 15 points
- Group B – Pool 1
- Gianna Brandolino, United States, 18 points
- Madelen Thorsrudhagen Danielsen, Norway, 18 points
- Adelia Nur Irwan Syazalee, Malaysia, 15 points
- Louna Martin Ponsoda, Spain, 15 points
- Group B – Pool 2
- Hui Fen New, Singapore, 18 points
- Ayse Elif Eser, Türkiye, 15 points
- Qing Li, Macao, China, 15 points
- Chrysoula-Anna Avgerinou, Greece, 12 points
- Group C – Pool 1
- Jenny Mathiesen, Norway, 18 points
- Patricia Beatriz Ciotti Ettari, Spain, 16 points
- Emma Friant, France, 15 points
- Dena Buxton, Australia, 15 points
- Group C – Pool 2
- Anna Andersson, Sweden, 18 points
- Krizziah Lyn Macatula, Philippines, 18 points
- Nadine Meier, Germany, 15 points
- Georgia Sagona, Greece, 15 points
- Group D – Pool 1
- Karen Kaergaard Nielsen, Denmark, 21 points
- Shannon Pluhowsky, United States, 21 points
- Danielle Escolano, Philippines, 15 points
- Brianna Walsh, Australia, 15 points
- Group D – Pool 2
- Li Jane Sin, Malaysia, 21 points
- Cherie Tan, Singapore, 18 points
- Nora Johansson, Sweden, 15 points
- Jiping Fang, China, 15 points
Nevertheless, she admitted to being a bit anxious prior to the start of competition on Thursday.
“I was very nervous going in, so I was happy that my first adult shot was a strike and that I started with 267,” Brandolino said. “This is my first adult tournament for Team USA, so it’s exciting that it went well. Now that I have this block under my belt, I just need to reset mentally and get back to it tomorrow.”
While Brandolino was looking to come out of the gate quickly, Pluhowsky was more focused on the long game, using Thursday’s set to get a handle on how best to attack the 44-foot World Cup oil pattern during the remainder of Women’s Singles competition and during the all-important team event.
“I was trying to use today to learn a little bit,” Pluhowsky said. “I thought the lanes played a little bit different today than how they did during practice. There was more hook in the front, which we weren’t really expecting, so we had to feel out the matches to decide if we could experiment or if we needed to buckle down and make good shots to win. We’re trying to learn as much as we can for team event so that we can figure out some surfaces depending on which end we bowl on.”
Despite sitting in eighth place in her pool after opening day, Martin felt like she made plenty of good shots in her own right on Thursday. As such, the 22-year-old right-hander is still very confident heading into the final six games of Women’s Singles qualifying.
“I made good shots, so I feel pretty good,” Martin said. “We’re just trying to control what we can control and go from there. I had the second-highest average in my pool, so I felt like I had a pretty good block. I’m just going to try to win some more matches on Saturday and see what happens.”
In addition to watching Games 8-13 for Snodgrass and Brandolino at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal on Friday, Martin and Pluhowsky also will have the opportunity to watch Team USA’s Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, complete Round 1 of Men’s Singles qualifying.
In the men’s division for singles, each competitor is placed in a 12-player pool for 11 games of match play. Each victory in the head-to-head format is worth three points, while ties award each athlete one point.
Each of the four groups (A, B, C and D) in Men’s Singles features four pools (1, 2, 3 and 4), and the top two in points from each pool earn a spot in the 32-player men’s bracket.
Team USA’s Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, and Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas, completed their blocks on Wednesday, but both athletes were unable to advance to the next round as Hanrahan (8-3; 210.5 average) finished third in Group B – Pool 2 with 24 points, while Anderson (7-4; 197.9 average) was fourth in Group A – Pool 4 with 21 points.
That means the remaining Men’s Singles medal hopes among American men lie with Via, who will bowl on Friday and Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas, who will complete his 11-game block of singles qualifying on Saturday morning.
At the conclusion of Saturday’s rounds, both brackets will be set for singles. Sunday’s schedule will feature each round in the single-elimination bracket until the top two athletes in each division emerge and bowl for the title. Each round will feature a best-of-three format.
The focus will switch to team competition Monday in Munich, with four groups in the men’s division and two groups on the women’s side.
Similar to the singles portion of the event, each team in the men’s division will bowl 11 matches against the other countries in their group. The women’s division will feature 13 matches in each group. These contests will take place across Monday and Tuesday.
Each match during these blocks will implement the Baker format and be conducted as a best-of-three contest. Countries will be awarded three points for every victory.
The top four teams in each group on the men’s side and top eight from each group in the women’s division will advance to their respective 16-team bracket.
The final day of competition during the 2026 World Cup will be Oct. 21, as all advancing teams look to navigate their way through the single-elimination bracket to take home the coveted win.
All bracket matches will feature a best-of-five Baker format to determine the winner.
Malaysia enters this year’s event as the defending team champion in the men’s division, while the United States is looking for back-to-back titles on the women’s side at the World Cup. The group representing Team USA during the 2024 event in Hong Kong included Martin, Pluhowsky, Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, and Lauren Russo of Ballwin, Missouri.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.