U.S. women reach doubles match play at 2026 IBF World Youth Championships
June 30, 2026
Junior Team USA bowlers (from left to right) Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Georgia; Elizabeth Teuber of Holly, Michigan; Katelyn Abigania of San Diego and Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, pose for a picture at Megalanes Sarawak Bowling Centre in Malaysia. The American women performed well at the IBF World Youth Championships on Tuesday with both duos advancing to match play, Klemencic and Teuber thanks to a second-place finish and Abigania and Brandolino by placing ninth.
FULL RESULTS
ARLINGTON, Texas – Junior Team USA fared well at the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Youth Championships in Malaysia on Tuesday, advancing both of its duos to match play in Girls’ Doubles competition while one of its boys’ pairs put itself in position to move on as well.
Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Georgia, and Elizabeth Teuber of Holly, Michigan, secured the highest U.S. finish during Day 1 of doubles competition at Megalanes Sarawak Bowling Centre, placing second among 42 girls’ duos with a 10-game Baker doubles total of 2,092 (a 209.2 average), which included seven games over 200 (217, 211, 226, 204, 211, 217 and 247).
Katelyn Abigania of San Diego and Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, broke 200 five times (254, 225, 227, 204 and 214) en route to a ninth-place finish with 2,023.
Korea’s Paek Yedam and Noh Jimin led Girls’ Doubles qualifying with a 10-game score of 2,099 while the Finnish duo of Emma Palermaa and Stella Lokfors secured the final berth to match play by landing in 16th place with 1,922.
Only half of the Boys’ Doubles field competed at Megalanes on Tuesday; nevertheless, Junior Team USA’s Landin Jordan of Sycamore, Illinois, and Dawson Peterson of Stewartville, Minnesota, made the most of their time on the lanes, finishing third among 34 pairs on Squad 1 with a 10-game mark of 2,145 (a 214.5 average).
The Americans got there by starting their set with five consecutive games of 200 or better (206, 227, 206, 258 and 256) and then eclipsing the mark again with 239 during Game 9.
Sweden’s Robin Noberg and Noel Torgersen Haglund finished atop the Boys’ Doubles Squad 1 standings on Tuesday with a 10-game tally of 2,240 (a 224 average). Finland’s Juho Vuoppola and Roni Leskinen placed second with 2,189.
Boys’ Doubles Squad 2 will hit the lanes for its 10-game Baker block on Wednesday morning, after which the field will be cut to the top 16 duos who will move on to match play later in the day.
Junior Team USA’s Jacob Bockstie of Nottingham, Maryland, and Josh Hammons of Topeka, Kansas, will compete on Squad 2 and look to punch their tickets to the next round just as their female counterparts did on Tuesday.
While Abigania and Brandolino were happy to have moved on to match play, according to Abigania, the pair will be looking for a fresh start on Wednesday.
“We didn’t strike a ton today; we left a lot of corner pins,” Abigania said. “Our spare shooting was good though, and that allowed us to keep our average over 200. We bowled really well but still have a lot more to give, so I think we just need to forget about what happened today and start with a clean slate tomorrow.”
In addition to solid execution, Klemencic attributed much of her and Teuber’s success on Tuesday to excellent communication.
“I feel like we have a good relationship even though we haven’t bowled together that much,” Klemencic said. “Elizabeth (Teuber) is really easy to talk to, and we trust each other. That makes it really easy to talk through what we’re seeing and make moves, which makes everything easier.”
Klemencic is hoping that she and Teuber can continue putting their heads together and using what they learned during Round 1 to help them find even more success on the 42-foot World Youth Championships oil pattern during match play on Wednesday.
“We definitely saw today how differently the pattern can play from lane to lane and pair to pair with some being longer or tighter,” Klemencic said. “That’s probably the biggest thing we took from today, and now we’ll look to apply that information tomorrow.”
By day’s end in Sarawak on Wednesday, just four Girls’ Doubles and four Boys’ Doubles pairs will remain. Those squads will have punched their tickets to their division’s semifinals and guaranteed themselves no worse than bronze-medal finishes.
After the completion of doubles match play, the stage will be set for team qualifying and match play, which will occur on Thursday and Friday with the first two rounds of mixed team action following on Saturday.
Singles medals will be awarded and doubles semifinal action completed in both divisions on Sunday.
The final day of competition will be the most extensive, however, as Monday’s docket will feature the doubles finals and the semifinals and finals for both the team and mixed team events.
Once the final shots have been delivered and the final medals conferred, the Victory Banquet will officially bring the 2026 IBF World Youth Championships to a close on Monday night.
CLICK HERE for more information on Junior Team USA.
FULL RESULTS
ARLINGTON, Texas – Junior Team USA fared well at the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Youth Championships in Malaysia on Tuesday, advancing both of its duos to match play in Girls’ Doubles competition while one of its boys’ pairs put itself in position to move on as well.
Erin Klemencic of Powder Springs, Georgia, and Elizabeth Teuber of Holly, Michigan, secured the highest U.S. finish during Day 1 of doubles competition at Megalanes Sarawak Bowling Centre, placing second among 42 girls’ duos with a 10-game Baker doubles total of 2,092 (a 209.2 average), which included seven games over 200 (217, 211, 226, 204, 211, 217 and 247).
Katelyn Abigania of San Diego and Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, broke 200 five times (254, 225, 227, 204 and 214) en route to a ninth-place finish with 2,023.
Korea’s Paek Yedam and Noh Jimin led Girls’ Doubles qualifying with a 10-game score of 2,099 while the Finnish duo of Emma Palermaa and Stella Lokfors secured the final berth to match play by landing in 16th place with 1,922.
Only half of the Boys’ Doubles field competed at Megalanes on Tuesday; nevertheless, Junior Team USA’s Landin Jordan of Sycamore, Illinois, and Dawson Peterson of Stewartville, Minnesota, made the most of their time on the lanes, finishing third among 34 pairs on Squad 1 with a 10-game mark of 2,145 (a 214.5 average).
The Americans got there by starting their set with five consecutive games of 200 or better (206, 227, 206, 258 and 256) and then eclipsing the mark again with 239 during Game 9.
Sweden’s Robin Noberg and Noel Torgersen Haglund finished atop the Boys’ Doubles Squad 1 standings on Tuesday with a 10-game tally of 2,240 (a 224 average). Finland’s Juho Vuoppola and Roni Leskinen placed second with 2,189.
Boys’ Doubles Squad 2 will hit the lanes for its 10-game Baker block on Wednesday morning, after which the field will be cut to the top 16 duos who will move on to match play later in the day.
Junior Team USA’s Jacob Bockstie of Nottingham, Maryland, and Josh Hammons of Topeka, Kansas, will compete on Squad 2 and look to punch their tickets to the next round just as their female counterparts did on Tuesday.
While Abigania and Brandolino were happy to have moved on to match play, according to Abigania, the pair will be looking for a fresh start on Wednesday.
“We didn’t strike a ton today; we left a lot of corner pins,” Abigania said. “Our spare shooting was good though, and that allowed us to keep our average over 200. We bowled really well but still have a lot more to give, so I think we just need to forget about what happened today and start with a clean slate tomorrow.”
In addition to solid execution, Klemencic attributed much of her and Teuber’s success on Tuesday to excellent communication.
“I feel like we have a good relationship even though we haven’t bowled together that much,” Klemencic said. “Elizabeth (Teuber) is really easy to talk to, and we trust each other. That makes it really easy to talk through what we’re seeing and make moves, which makes everything easier.”
Klemencic is hoping that she and Teuber can continue putting their heads together and using what they learned during Round 1 to help them find even more success on the 42-foot World Youth Championships oil pattern during match play on Wednesday.
“We definitely saw today how differently the pattern can play from lane to lane and pair to pair with some being longer or tighter,” Klemencic said. “That’s probably the biggest thing we took from today, and now we’ll look to apply that information tomorrow.”
By day’s end in Sarawak on Wednesday, just four Girls’ Doubles and four Boys’ Doubles pairs will remain. Those squads will have punched their tickets to their division’s semifinals and guaranteed themselves no worse than bronze-medal finishes.
After the completion of doubles match play, the stage will be set for team qualifying and match play, which will occur on Thursday and Friday with the first two rounds of mixed team action following on Saturday.
Singles medals will be awarded and doubles semifinal action completed in both divisions on Sunday.
The final day of competition will be the most extensive, however, as Monday’s docket will feature the doubles finals and the semifinals and finals for both the team and mixed team events.
Once the final shots have been delivered and the final medals conferred, the Victory Banquet will officially bring the 2026 IBF World Youth Championships to a close on Monday night.
CLICK HERE for more information on Junior Team USA.