Pluhowsky picks up singles bronze at 2026 IBF World Cup
October 18, 2026
Team USA legend Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, poses with her bronze medal alongside daughter Autumn Kelly. On Sunday, Pluhowsky added to her total of more than 50 international medals by earning bronze in Women's Singles at the 2026 IBF World Cup, which is being contested at Max Munich Bowling - Brunnthal in Germany.
FULL RESULTS
ARLINGTON, Texas – There are few names more synonymous with Team USA bowling than Shannon Pluhowsky. After all, the legendary left-hander from Dayton, Ohio, has been a member of the team for more than 25 years and has earned more than 50 medals in international competition.
That total went up by one on Sunday when Pluhowsky earned bronze in Women’s Singles at the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Cup, which is being contested at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal in Germany.
Pluhowsky’s run to the podium began with a 2-0 sweep of China’s Rui Peng, whom she took down by scores of 227-193 and 195-194.
The round of 16 featured a battle between teammates as Pluhowsky took on fellow American Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, who earned her spot in the match by defeating Singapore’s Colleen Pee 216-185 and 226-206.
The Pluhowsky-Brandolino bout will likely be talked about for years to come, not just because of the 25-year age difference between the athletes – Pluhowsky is 44, while Brandolino is just 19 – or because it showcased both Team USA’s veteran star power and up-and-coming talent, but because it was a thrilling match from start to finish.
Brandolino took the opener 205-203, but Pluhowsky quickly punched back, winning Game 2 by a final score of 215-188 to tie the match and force a winner-take-all third game.
The finale was close as well, but Pluhowsky escaped with a hard-fought 211-206 victory to advance to the quarterfinals and end Brandolino’s run in Women’s Singles.
Pluhowsky’s round of eight opponent was Team Singapore stalwart and two-time defending Professional Women’s Bowling Association Player of the Year New Hui Fen, who has firmly established herself as one of the top women’s players in the world in recent years.
Nevertheless, it was Team USA’s Pluhowsky who won this clash of the titans 2-1 (174-169; 181-256; 215-164) to advance to the Women’s Singles semifinals and officially lock up another international.
Pluhowsky had her sights set on gold, and it initially looked as if she’d get the chance to compete for it after she defeated France’s Manon Clement 190-168 to move just one victory shy of a berth in the gold-medal match.
That’s as close as the American would get, however, as Clement rallied to defeat Pluhowsky 208-201 in Game 2 and 198-176 in the deciding game to complete the comeback.
One round later, Clement topped Natasha Roslan of Malaysia 2-1 (231-190; 147-206; 204-168) to become the 2026 IBF World Cup Women’s Singles gold medalist.
Roslan settled for silver, while Pluhowsky and Sweden’s Nora Johansson walked away with bronze.
While Pluhowsky certainly would have liked to have added to her collection of more than 30 international gold medals, just reaching the podium on Sunday was memorable because of who she got to share the moment with.
“One thing that made today special was having my daughter carry the flag for the medal ceremony,” Pluhowsky said, referring to daughter Autumn Kelly. “Our goal is to win medals, and we got one.”
Even though Brandolino fell short of the medal stand on Sunday, she was grateful for having had the opportunity to compete against Pluhowsky.
“I think getting to compete against Shannon (Pluhowsky) was cool because it brought out the best in both of us,” Brandolino said. “Having to bowl against a teammate is good and bad, but I knew it would be a happy ending either way because someone from Team USA was moving on. It also showed that we will be a force to be reckoned with in the team event.”
Pluhowsky is equally optimistic.
“We have been gathering information for the team event each time we bowl,” Pluhowsky said. “The more teammates we add out there on the lanes, the stronger we get.”
The teammates Pluhowsky was referring to are Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, and Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, who will return to action alongside Pluhowsky and Brandolino when Women’s Team qualifying kicks off in Munich on Monday.
The American men’s squad will feature Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan; Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas; Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; and Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio.
Barnes had hoped to make a run to the podium in Men’s Singles on Sunday, but he fell to Italy’s Giorgio Gragnaniello in three games (238-204; 187-201; 201-243) and was eliminated in the round of 32.
The Men’s Singles gold medal went to Hong Kong’s Jovi Ma, who topped Gregory Rius of France in two close games, 202-201 and 203-198.
The defeat left Rius with silver, while Mathijs Beverdam of the Netherlands and Norway’s Mathias Danielsen Otting earned bronze.
With singles completed, the focus now switches to team competition, with four groups in the men’s division and two groups on the women’s side hitting the lanes on Monday.
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 Wednesday, 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 – There are few names more synonymous with Team USA bowling than Shannon Pluhowsky. After all, the legendary left-hander from Dayton, Ohio, has been a member of the team for more than 25 years and has earned more than 50 medals in international competition.
That total went up by one on Sunday when Pluhowsky earned bronze in Women’s Singles at the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Cup, which is being contested at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal in Germany.
Pluhowsky’s run to the podium began with a 2-0 sweep of China’s Rui Peng, whom she took down by scores of 227-193 and 195-194.
The round of 16 featured a battle between teammates as Pluhowsky took on fellow American Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, who earned her spot in the match by defeating Singapore’s Colleen Pee 216-185 and 226-206.
The Pluhowsky-Brandolino bout will likely be talked about for years to come, not just because of the 25-year age difference between the athletes – Pluhowsky is 44, while Brandolino is just 19 – or because it showcased both Team USA’s veteran star power and up-and-coming talent, but because it was a thrilling match from start to finish.
Brandolino took the opener 205-203, but Pluhowsky quickly punched back, winning Game 2 by a final score of 215-188 to tie the match and force a winner-take-all third game.
The finale was close as well, but Pluhowsky escaped with a hard-fought 211-206 victory to advance to the quarterfinals and end Brandolino’s run in Women’s Singles.
Pluhowsky’s round of eight opponent was Team Singapore stalwart and two-time defending Professional Women’s Bowling Association Player of the Year New Hui Fen, who has firmly established herself as one of the top women’s players in the world in recent years.
Nevertheless, it was Team USA’s Pluhowsky who won this clash of the titans 2-1 (174-169; 181-256; 215-164) to advance to the Women’s Singles semifinals and officially lock up another international.
Pluhowsky had her sights set on gold, and it initially looked as if she’d get the chance to compete for it after she defeated France’s Manon Clement 190-168 to move just one victory shy of a berth in the gold-medal match.
That’s as close as the American would get, however, as Clement rallied to defeat Pluhowsky 208-201 in Game 2 and 198-176 in the deciding game to complete the comeback.
One round later, Clement topped Natasha Roslan of Malaysia 2-1 (231-190; 147-206; 204-168) to become the 2026 IBF World Cup Women’s Singles gold medalist.
Roslan settled for silver, while Pluhowsky and Sweden’s Nora Johansson walked away with bronze.
While Pluhowsky certainly would have liked to have added to her collection of more than 30 international gold medals, just reaching the podium on Sunday was memorable because of who she got to share the moment with.
“One thing that made today special was having my daughter carry the flag for the medal ceremony,” Pluhowsky said, referring to daughter Autumn Kelly. “Our goal is to win medals, and we got one.”
Even though Brandolino fell short of the medal stand on Sunday, she was grateful for having had the opportunity to compete against Pluhowsky.
“I think getting to compete against Shannon (Pluhowsky) was cool because it brought out the best in both of us,” Brandolino said. “Having to bowl against a teammate is good and bad, but I knew it would be a happy ending either way because someone from Team USA was moving on. It also showed that we will be a force to be reckoned with in the team event.”
Pluhowsky is equally optimistic.
“We have been gathering information for the team event each time we bowl,” Pluhowsky said. “The more teammates we add out there on the lanes, the stronger we get.”
The teammates Pluhowsky was referring to are Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, and Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, who will return to action alongside Pluhowsky and Brandolino when Women’s Team qualifying kicks off in Munich on Monday.
The American men’s squad will feature Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan; Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas; Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; and Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio.
Barnes had hoped to make a run to the podium in Men’s Singles on Sunday, but he fell to Italy’s Giorgio Gragnaniello in three games (238-204; 187-201; 201-243) and was eliminated in the round of 32.
The Men’s Singles gold medal went to Hong Kong’s Jovi Ma, who topped Gregory Rius of France in two close games, 202-201 and 203-198.
The defeat left Rius with silver, while Mathijs Beverdam of the Netherlands and Norway’s Mathias Danielsen Otting earned bronze.
With singles completed, the focus now switches to team competition, with four groups in the men’s division and two groups on the women’s side hitting the lanes on Monday.
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 Wednesday, 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.