By GENE J. KANAK
USBC Communications
ARLINGTON, Texas – If you ask any Team USA bowler what event means the most to them during international competition, the answer will almost certainly be the team event. That’s because while these elite athletes enjoy winning medals individually, nothing compares to capturing gold while donning the red, white and blue and battling alongside the best bowlers this nation has to offer.
As such, when the American contingent traveled to Germany to compete in the 2026 International Bowling Federation World Cup, all eight athletes had the same goal in mind: winning team gold.
Both Team USA squads took a step toward achieving that goal at Max Munich Bowling – Brunnthal on Tuesday as each qualified for bracket competition in its respective division, earning the opportunity to compete for medals during Wednesday’s final day of competition.
The Team USA men were the first to punch their tickets to the next round as Men’s Team qualifying opened Tuesday’s schedule in Munich.
Americans Andrew Anderson, Ryan Barnes, Packy Hanrahan and Ohioan Chris Via were eager to get on the lanes after waiting nearly a week for the chance to compete together.
It turned out to be worth the wait, however, as the Team USA men overcame a 1-2 start by winning seven of their final eight matches to finish with an 8-3 record and 24 points, good for first place among the 12 teams in Men’s Team Group D.
Team competition in both divisions at the World Cup utilizes the Baker format, and all qualifying matches were conducted as best-of-three contests. Countries were awarded three points for every victory.
The top four teams from each men’s group and the top eight from each women’s group advanced to their respective 16-team brackets.
The American men opened the day with just one victory in their first three contests, falling to the Netherlands 2-1 (180-179; 148-184; 182-205) and Kuwait 2-0 (179-204; 167-223) with a 2-0 victory over Malaysia (223-170; 227-214) sandwiched in between.
Anderson, Barnes, Hanrahan and Via would heat up from there, however, running off seven consecutive victories to overcome the slow start and seize control of the group standings.
The run began with consecutive sweeps of Cyprus (195-193; 243-186), Guatemala (299-182; 234-175) and Serbia (211-191; 218-207) before the Americans were pushed to three games during a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia (176-233; 193-145; 193-167).
Wins over Denmark, 2-0 (195-159; 208-189), Kazakhstan, 2-0 (231-119; 235-159), and Norway, 2-1 (202-227; 203-185; 213-207), followed. The U.S. men then closed out their day with a 2-0 loss to Israel (174-185; 192-210).
Despite the final-match setback, Barnes was very proud of the effort he and his teammates put forth Tuesday.
“I thought we did a great job staying together as a group,” Barnes said. “Obviously, you’re going to face adversity throughout a long day, but I think our biggest strength was how we responded to it. We kept communicating, picking each other up and staying focused on the next shot. Not everything went perfectly, but nobody let the tough moments get bigger than they needed to be.”
That approach will need to carry over to Wednesday for the American men to experience the moment they’ve been waiting for, listening to the National Anthem play with gold medals draped around their necks.
Barnes didn’t try to downplay how hungry he and his teammates are to turn that dream into reality.
“I think the biggest thing now is how much this opportunity means to all of us,” Barnes said. “We’re a group of competitors who all want the same thing, and there’s nothing better than going to battle with guys who have your back. We’re enjoying the experience, but we’re here for a reason. The goal is gold, and that’s not changing.”
The American men will kick off bracket competition with a matchup against Macao, which went 8-3 and earned 24 points during qualifying to place fourth in Men’s Team Group B.
The final day of competition at the 2026 World Cup will have all advancing teams looking to navigate their way through the single-elimination bracket to take home the coveted team gold medals.
All bracket matches will feature a best-of-five Baker format to determine the winner.
WOMEN GO 9-4
Team USA’s women’s foursome of Gianna Brandolinon, Stow’s Jillian Martin, Dayton’s Shannon Pluhowsky and Jordan Snodgrass secured a place in the Women’s Team bracket by posting a 9-4 record over the course of two days of qualifying.
The squad followed up Monday’s 5-2 effort with a 4-2 performance at Max Munich Bowling on Tuesday to end the preliminary round in fourth place in Group A with 27 points.
The U.S. women kicked off their second block with a pair of 2-0 victories, topping Spain by scores of 226-156 and 224-149 in the opener before shutting out Ukraine in Match 2 (200-136; 187-137).
Team USA’s momentum was halted one match later when it fell to the hosts from Germany 2-1 (143-193; 201-166; 186-215).
It wouldn’t take Brandolino, Martin, Pluhowsky and Snodgrass long to return to the win column, however, as they posted a 2-0 win over Norway (169-133; 234-137) and a 2-1 victory against Iceland (201-211; 229-160; 183-157) before falling to France 2-1 (219-180; 204-242; 176-196) to end the night.
By qualifying fourth, Team USA earned a first-round match against China on Wednesday. The Chinese squad finished fifth in Women’s Team Group B with an 8-5 record and 24 points.
Despite failing to reach the top of the qualifying standings, Martin believes she and her teammates are right where they need to be heading into the final day of competition at this year’s World Cup.
“Today, I felt like we applied things that we learned yesterday and really just got comfortable going into the bracket,” Martin said. “We didn’t strike enough during a few matches, but we were able to switch things up, whether it was bowling balls, the lineup or something else, to be better.”
In addition to becoming more familiar each day with the demands presented by the 44-foot World Cup oil pattern, Martin also believes the Team USA women can draw comfort from their status as the women’s division’s defending champions.
“I think being the defending champs allows us to have more confidence,” Martin said. “Team has always been what we’ve placed the most value on for Team USA. A team gold is always the goal, especially at world events. We’ve been here and done this before, so it’s time to do it again.”
But the American ladies won’t win the day with confidence alone. They’ll need intelligent lane-play strategy, quality execution and seamless communication from start to finish.
Snodgrass expects that final component to be particularly important.
“Communication is going to be key to us advancing,” Snodgrass said. “We just need to stay in our bubble, trust each other’s shot making and stay on top of our moves. If we do that, I’m confident in the four of us and how we can perform in the high-pressure moments.”
Malaysia entered this year’s tournament 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 and Lauren Russo.
See complete results here: https://bowl.com/team-usa/2026_ibf_world_cup