U.S. women survive roll-off, reach team semifinals at IBF World Championships
December 03, 2025
Team USA bowlers (from left to right) Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio; Breanna Clemmer of Pikeville, Kentucky; Julia Bond of Lincoln, Nebraska; Lauren Ruso of O'Fallon, Missouri, and Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, advanced to the Women's Team semifinals and guaranteed themselves no worse than a bronze-medal finish after qualifying second and surviving a four-team roll-off at the 2025 IBF World Championships in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
FULL RESULTS
HONG KONG – The Team USA women showed their grit on Wednesday, surviving a four-team roll-off to advance to the semifinals and guarantee themselves no worse than a bronze-medal finish in the Women’s Team event at the 2025 International Bowling Federation World Championships in Hong Kong.
Julia Bond of Lincoln, Nebraska; Breanna Clemmer of Pikeville, Kentucky; Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, and Lauren Russo of O’Fallon, Missouri, were the ladies donning the red, white and blue at Top Bowl on Wednesday, and the squad attempted to seize control from the moment the first shots were thrown.
The Americans started their seven-game Baker qualifying block with a score of 228 to grab the lead in the 22-team field after Game 1.
The U.S. ladies would go on to add scores of 186, 203, 230, 213, 204 and 191 to finish qualifying with a 1,455 total, which was good enough for a 207.86 average and second place overall.
Singapore finished just two pins ahead of the Americans, leading qualifying with a mark of 1,457.
Korea (1,425), Sweden (1,391) and Malaysia (1,384) also finished in the top five while Japan (1,360), Macao (1,344) and Chinese Taipei (1,338) secured the final advancing spots by landing in spots six through eight, respectively.
The Women’s Team Round of 8 featured another seven Baker games, but this time the format was match play with teams receiving three points for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss.
That made wins far more valuable than average or total pins, and with that in mind, Team USA attempted to start strong once again.
The Americans opened match play with two consecutive victories thanks to solid scores of 245 and 238.
The squad took two steps back shortly thereafter, however, failing to break 200 during losses in Games 3 and 4.
The U.S. women would bounce back to win the next two games thanks to scores of 225 and 215 before finishing with a 193 mark during a Game 7 loss.
Losing the last game was costly as it caused Team USA to finish in a four-way tie with Korea, Japan and Singapore at 12 points, which the teams arrived at thanks to matching records of 4-3.
That meant that a four-team roll-off would be needed to determine second through fifth place. The squads who rolled the top three scores during the one-game roll-off would join first-place Malaysia (5-2) in Friday’s Women’s Team semifinals while the team with the lowest score would be left on the outside looking in.
As expected, the roll-off was close throughout and featured some dramatic moments, but a clutch 3-10 baby split conversion from Russo and late strikes from Martin and Pluhowsky allowed Team USA to post a final score of 200, which was the second-highest game rolled during the extra session.
Korea led the roll-off with 215 while Japan secured the final semifinal berth thanks to a mark of 197. Singapore came in with 174 and was eliminated.
After the roll-off, Coté discussed all it took for the U.S. women to survive and advance.
“Reaching the semifinals as a team means we’ve used every ounce of knowledge from the three previous events and put it together to advance to the next round,” Coté said. “We had players playing various parts of the lane and sticking to their own game plans, but we came together for the same goal, which was to advance and bowl for a World Championships medal. Today, we came together when it mattered most and showed the world the heart of Team USA.”
In addition to guaranteeing the American women no worse than a bronze-medal finish, reaching the semifinals also means the U.S. ladies will have the opportunity to compete inside Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wanchai, which is where Friday’s Men’s Team and Women’s Team semifinals and finals will be contested.
Pluhowsky, Coté, Martin and Russo teamed up to win Women’s Team gold at the 2025 IBF World Cup at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in January. Now, Pluhowsky is hoping that experience helps her and her teammates put their best foot forward during the remaining phases of competition at this year’s World Championships.
“The stadium is a cool experience,” Pluhowsky said. “We found success there in January and will rely on those experiences to help us during the next round.”
Russo is hoping that round ends with Team USA standing atop the podium as “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays.
“Bringing home gold would mean the absolute world,” Russo said. “It’s a true testament to our trust within ourselves, our teammates and our coaches. It shows that every sacrifice and setback this week was worth it, not just for me but for all of us. I’m excited to go back to the stadium where we won the World Cup and create more memories.”
The Women’s Team semifinals will see the United States take on Korea while Malaysia battles Japan. The two winners will move on to battle for gold while the two teams coming up short during the semis will walk away with bronze.
The Men’s Team final four will pit Germany against France while Sweden takes on Korea.
Team USA had hoped to have its men’s squad competing at Queen Elizabeth Stadium on Friday as well, but it wasn’t meant to be as Andrew Anderson of Chesterfield Township, Michigan; Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas; Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; A.J. Johnson of Kenosha, Wisconsin; Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois, and Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, placed 15th in the 28-team Men’s Team qualifying field on Wednesday and were eliminated after posting a seven-game Baker score of 1,447 (a 206.71 average), which included games of 224, 226, 180, 215, 177, 206 and 219.
The Team USA men have now completed competition at the 2025 IBF World Championships. The American women, meanwhile, will have Thursday off as the day’s schedule features the semifinals and finals in both Men’s Trios and Women’s Trios, which, like Friday’s team finals, will be held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium.
The Men’s Trios semifinals will have Korea against Sweden in one semi while Denmark and Australia do battle in the other. On the women’s side, it will be Finland taking on Denmark as Japan battles Sweden.
Friday will be the last day of competition at this year’s tournament. After the last balls have been rolled and the final medals have been awarded, the Victory Banquet will officially bring the 2025 IBF World Championships to a close on Friday evening.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.
FULL RESULTS
HONG KONG – The Team USA women showed their grit on Wednesday, surviving a four-team roll-off to advance to the semifinals and guarantee themselves no worse than a bronze-medal finish in the Women’s Team event at the 2025 International Bowling Federation World Championships in Hong Kong.
Julia Bond of Lincoln, Nebraska; Breanna Clemmer of Pikeville, Kentucky; Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, and Lauren Russo of O’Fallon, Missouri, were the ladies donning the red, white and blue at Top Bowl on Wednesday, and the squad attempted to seize control from the moment the first shots were thrown.
The Americans started their seven-game Baker qualifying block with a score of 228 to grab the lead in the 22-team field after Game 1.
The U.S. ladies would go on to add scores of 186, 203, 230, 213, 204 and 191 to finish qualifying with a 1,455 total, which was good enough for a 207.86 average and second place overall.
Singapore finished just two pins ahead of the Americans, leading qualifying with a mark of 1,457.
Korea (1,425), Sweden (1,391) and Malaysia (1,384) also finished in the top five while Japan (1,360), Macao (1,344) and Chinese Taipei (1,338) secured the final advancing spots by landing in spots six through eight, respectively.
The Women’s Team Round of 8 featured another seven Baker games, but this time the format was match play with teams receiving three points for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss.
That made wins far more valuable than average or total pins, and with that in mind, Team USA attempted to start strong once again.
The Americans opened match play with two consecutive victories thanks to solid scores of 245 and 238.
The squad took two steps back shortly thereafter, however, failing to break 200 during losses in Games 3 and 4.
The U.S. women would bounce back to win the next two games thanks to scores of 225 and 215 before finishing with a 193 mark during a Game 7 loss.
Losing the last game was costly as it caused Team USA to finish in a four-way tie with Korea, Japan and Singapore at 12 points, which the teams arrived at thanks to matching records of 4-3.
That meant that a four-team roll-off would be needed to determine second through fifth place. The squads who rolled the top three scores during the one-game roll-off would join first-place Malaysia (5-2) in Friday’s Women’s Team semifinals while the team with the lowest score would be left on the outside looking in.
As expected, the roll-off was close throughout and featured some dramatic moments, but a clutch 3-10 baby split conversion from Russo and late strikes from Martin and Pluhowsky allowed Team USA to post a final score of 200, which was the second-highest game rolled during the extra session.
Korea led the roll-off with 215 while Japan secured the final semifinal berth thanks to a mark of 197. Singapore came in with 174 and was eliminated.
After the roll-off, Coté discussed all it took for the U.S. women to survive and advance.
“Reaching the semifinals as a team means we’ve used every ounce of knowledge from the three previous events and put it together to advance to the next round,” Coté said. “We had players playing various parts of the lane and sticking to their own game plans, but we came together for the same goal, which was to advance and bowl for a World Championships medal. Today, we came together when it mattered most and showed the world the heart of Team USA.”
In addition to guaranteeing the American women no worse than a bronze-medal finish, reaching the semifinals also means the U.S. ladies will have the opportunity to compete inside Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wanchai, which is where Friday’s Men’s Team and Women’s Team semifinals and finals will be contested.
Pluhowsky, Coté, Martin and Russo teamed up to win Women’s Team gold at the 2025 IBF World Cup at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in January. Now, Pluhowsky is hoping that experience helps her and her teammates put their best foot forward during the remaining phases of competition at this year’s World Championships.
“The stadium is a cool experience,” Pluhowsky said. “We found success there in January and will rely on those experiences to help us during the next round.”
Russo is hoping that round ends with Team USA standing atop the podium as “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays.
“Bringing home gold would mean the absolute world,” Russo said. “It’s a true testament to our trust within ourselves, our teammates and our coaches. It shows that every sacrifice and setback this week was worth it, not just for me but for all of us. I’m excited to go back to the stadium where we won the World Cup and create more memories.”
The Women’s Team semifinals will see the United States take on Korea while Malaysia battles Japan. The two winners will move on to battle for gold while the two teams coming up short during the semis will walk away with bronze.
The Men’s Team final four will pit Germany against France while Sweden takes on Korea.
Team USA had hoped to have its men’s squad competing at Queen Elizabeth Stadium on Friday as well, but it wasn’t meant to be as Andrew Anderson of Chesterfield Township, Michigan; Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas; Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; A.J. Johnson of Kenosha, Wisconsin; Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois, and Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, placed 15th in the 28-team Men’s Team qualifying field on Wednesday and were eliminated after posting a seven-game Baker score of 1,447 (a 206.71 average), which included games of 224, 226, 180, 215, 177, 206 and 219.
The Team USA men have now completed competition at the 2025 IBF World Championships. The American women, meanwhile, will have Thursday off as the day’s schedule features the semifinals and finals in both Men’s Trios and Women’s Trios, which, like Friday’s team finals, will be held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium.
The Men’s Trios semifinals will have Korea against Sweden in one semi while Denmark and Australia do battle in the other. On the women’s side, it will be Finland taking on Denmark as Japan battles Sweden.
Friday will be the last day of competition at this year’s tournament. After the last balls have been rolled and the final medals have been awarded, the Victory Banquet will officially bring the 2025 IBF World Championships to a close on Friday evening.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.