American teams earn bronze at 2026 IBF World Cup in Munich
October 21, 2026
Team USA athletes and coaches pose on the approach at Max Munich Bowling - Brunnthal after the conclusion of the team medal ceremonies at the 2026 IBF World Cup. On Wednesday, both American squads earned bronze medals in their respective divisions to close competition at this year's event in Germany. Pictured are (back row from left to right) Team USA Head Coach Bryan O'Keefe, Andrew Anderson, Ryan Barnes, Chris Via and Packy Hanrahan. Seen in the front row (from left to right) are Gianna Brandolino, Jillian Martin, Shannon Pluhowsky, Jordan Snodgrass and Team USA Assistant Coach Andy Diercks.
FULL RESULTS
ARLINGTON, Texas – Team USA closed out the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Cup with bronze medals in both the Men’s Team and Women’s Team events on Wednesday at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal in Germany.
Both American squads won their first two matches of the day before falling in the semifinals to each division’s eventual gold-medal winner.
Team USA’s women’s lineup of Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio; and Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, topped China, 3-1 (206-178; 232-156; 185-192; 236-180), and Macao, 3-0 (191-178; 216-174; 221-195) but fell to Denmark in a five-game semifinal thriller, 3-2 (187-171; 151-199; 184-170; 160-214 and 170-193).
Denmark went on to defeat Singapore for gold one round later, collecting a 3-2 victory (198-177; 244-212; 170-218; 176-211; 243-215).
Singapore earned Women’s Team silver while Malaysia, which fell to Singapore 3-2 (203-236; 200-211; 259-215; 194-180; 174-191) in the other semifinal, joined the Americans in taking home bronze.
In men’s action in Munich on Wednesday, the Team USA foursome featuring Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan; Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas; Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; and Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, started strong, sweeping Macao, 3-0 (191-175; 202-147; 238-205) and posting a 3-1 win against Sweden (269-211; 203-244; 238-171; 222-194).
The Americans then fell to eventual champion France, 3-1, in the semifinals (189-210; 201-214; 206-183 and 192-243).
Australia topped Malaysia, 3-2 (192-224; 206-175; 164-217; 195-168; 275-194), in the other men’s semifinal but came up short in the gold-medal match, losing to France, 3-2 (214-201; 176-183; 195-201; 225-172; 163-204).
That performance secured Australia the Men’s Team silver medal, leaving Team USA and Malaysia to collect bronze.
Team competition in both divisions at the World Cup utilized the Baker format, and all bracket matches were conducted as best-of-five contests.
Although Team USA came to the World Cup with its sights set on gold medals, the athletes were able to draw plenty of positives from this year’s bronze-medal performances.
“I’m super proud of the fight in every one of these guys,” Hanrahan said. “We overcame a lot of not-so-great ball reaction and trusted in each other to out-bowl some bad pairs, win matches and capitalize when we could. We accomplished a lot here, and I’m proud of how we were able to dig deep and fight our way to the podium.”
Barnes’ thinking was along the same lines.
“I don’t think people understand just how difficult it is to medal at this level,” Barnes said. “Every team is talented, and every match is a battle. We worked extremely hard to put ourselves in a position to compete for a medal, and I’m proud of that.
“The team event has always meant a lot to me because you’re competing for something bigger than yourself. Being able to come together for one goal and compete alongside people who want it just as badly as you do makes it special. There’s nothing quite like competing together with USA on your back.”
Wearing that jersey is an honor Anderson takes very seriously as well.
“I don’t take the opportunity to wear the red, white and blue for granted, so I am happy we didn’t come home empty handed and that every single member earned a medal,” Anderson said. “It just wasn’t our week, but the program will continue to do everything it can so that next time those medals will be gold.”
While the Team USA women were gritty in their own right, Martin will remember the resiliency shown by the men’s squad at this year’s World Cup.
“What the men’s team accomplished here stands out to me,” Martin said. “After last year, they were able to troubleshoot and come together to get back to the podium this time. It was incredible to watch their determination and drive.”
One thing Martin thinks the women’s team can take away from this year’s experience in Munich is knowledge about how best to attack challenging lane conditions like the 44-foot oil pattern employed at the 2026 World Cup.
“One of our takeaways from this week will probably be learning how to play the lanes in different conditions,” Martin said. “International experiences are very different than competing in the States. The lanes are often much tighter, which increases the need for bigger bowling balls and smaller angles. The more experience we get, the better we get in these situations.”
But the experience Martin is likely to look back upon most fondly from the trip to Germany is the time spent with her teammates.
“I really enjoyed getting to know and understand everyone this week,” Martin said. “We are all very different people at different stages of life, but we were able to come together to do very special things That’s what sticks out to me, but, honestly, I’ll just remember that we had a lot of fun.”
The 2026 IBF World Cup kicked off on Oct. 14 with nearly 200 athletes from 48 federations in Munich to compete for medals in singles and team events in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
In addition to Wednesday’s team bronze medals, Pluhowsky, a 26-year Team USA veteran, also collected bronze in Women’s Singles.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.
FULL RESULTS
ARLINGTON, Texas – Team USA closed out the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Cup with bronze medals in both the Men’s Team and Women’s Team events on Wednesday at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal in Germany.
Both American squads won their first two matches of the day before falling in the semifinals to each division’s eventual gold-medal winner.
Team USA’s women’s lineup of Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois; Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio; Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio; and Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, topped China, 3-1 (206-178; 232-156; 185-192; 236-180), and Macao, 3-0 (191-178; 216-174; 221-195) but fell to Denmark in a five-game semifinal thriller, 3-2 (187-171; 151-199; 184-170; 160-214 and 170-193).
Denmark went on to defeat Singapore for gold one round later, collecting a 3-2 victory (198-177; 244-212; 170-218; 176-211; 243-215).
Singapore earned Women’s Team silver while Malaysia, which fell to Singapore 3-2 (203-236; 200-211; 259-215; 194-180; 174-191) in the other semifinal, joined the Americans in taking home bronze.
In men’s action in Munich on Wednesday, the Team USA foursome featuring Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan; Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas; Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas; and Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, started strong, sweeping Macao, 3-0 (191-175; 202-147; 238-205) and posting a 3-1 win against Sweden (269-211; 203-244; 238-171; 222-194).
The Americans then fell to eventual champion France, 3-1, in the semifinals (189-210; 201-214; 206-183 and 192-243).
Australia topped Malaysia, 3-2 (192-224; 206-175; 164-217; 195-168; 275-194), in the other men’s semifinal but came up short in the gold-medal match, losing to France, 3-2 (214-201; 176-183; 195-201; 225-172; 163-204).
That performance secured Australia the Men’s Team silver medal, leaving Team USA and Malaysia to collect bronze.
Team competition in both divisions at the World Cup utilized the Baker format, and all bracket matches were conducted as best-of-five contests.
Although Team USA came to the World Cup with its sights set on gold medals, the athletes were able to draw plenty of positives from this year’s bronze-medal performances.
“I’m super proud of the fight in every one of these guys,” Hanrahan said. “We overcame a lot of not-so-great ball reaction and trusted in each other to out-bowl some bad pairs, win matches and capitalize when we could. We accomplished a lot here, and I’m proud of how we were able to dig deep and fight our way to the podium.”
Barnes’ thinking was along the same lines.
“I don’t think people understand just how difficult it is to medal at this level,” Barnes said. “Every team is talented, and every match is a battle. We worked extremely hard to put ourselves in a position to compete for a medal, and I’m proud of that.
“The team event has always meant a lot to me because you’re competing for something bigger than yourself. Being able to come together for one goal and compete alongside people who want it just as badly as you do makes it special. There’s nothing quite like competing together with USA on your back.”
Wearing that jersey is an honor Anderson takes very seriously as well.
“I don’t take the opportunity to wear the red, white and blue for granted, so I am happy we didn’t come home empty handed and that every single member earned a medal,” Anderson said. “It just wasn’t our week, but the program will continue to do everything it can so that next time those medals will be gold.”
While the Team USA women were gritty in their own right, Martin will remember the resiliency shown by the men’s squad at this year’s World Cup.
“What the men’s team accomplished here stands out to me,” Martin said. “After last year, they were able to troubleshoot and come together to get back to the podium this time. It was incredible to watch their determination and drive.”
One thing Martin thinks the women’s team can take away from this year’s experience in Munich is knowledge about how best to attack challenging lane conditions like the 44-foot oil pattern employed at the 2026 World Cup.
“One of our takeaways from this week will probably be learning how to play the lanes in different conditions,” Martin said. “International experiences are very different than competing in the States. The lanes are often much tighter, which increases the need for bigger bowling balls and smaller angles. The more experience we get, the better we get in these situations.”
But the experience Martin is likely to look back upon most fondly from the trip to Germany is the time spent with her teammates.
“I really enjoyed getting to know and understand everyone this week,” Martin said. “We are all very different people at different stages of life, but we were able to come together to do very special things That’s what sticks out to me, but, honestly, I’ll just remember that we had a lot of fun.”
The 2026 IBF World Cup kicked off on Oct. 14 with nearly 200 athletes from 48 federations in Munich to compete for medals in singles and team events in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
In addition to Wednesday’s team bronze medals, Pluhowsky, a 26-year Team USA veteran, also collected bronze in Women’s Singles.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.