Shannon Pluhowsky is an American left-handed ten-pin bowler who competes in the

Professional Women's Bowling Association The Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) organizes and oversees a series of annual tournaments for the top competitive women ten-pin bowlers. The series is often referred to as the "women's tour" of bowling. The PWBA was formed in 1960 ...

(PWBA) and internationally. Pluhowsky is a 21-time member of Team USA (2001–2021), and a former four-time member of Junior Team USA (2000–2003). Pluhowsky has six professional championships, including major wins at the 2006

USBC Queens The USBC Queens is an annual ten-pin bowling event for amateur and professional female bowlers, sanctioned by the United States Bowling Congress. The event is one of four women's professional majors since the PWBA tour returned in 2015 and the femal ...

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

, the 2014 BPAA Women's All-Star in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

, and the 2021 PWBA Tour Championship in Reno, Nevada.

Early life and college career

Pluhowsky was born on August 8, 1982 in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. Before her successful professional career she had a successful amateur and college career. When she was younger she was a three-time Junior Gold Champion and a USOC World Bowler of the Year in 2004. She bowled at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

under coach Bill Straub who is credited for Pluhowsky's impeccable left-handed form. She sports a big push-away and a straight and loose swing with a textbook finishing position. She will still consult Straub to this day if she is struggling with her form. At Nebraska, Pluhowsky was a first-team All-American in three of her four seasons, and second-team All-American in the other season. She was NCBCA Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year in the 2001–02 season, and was awarded Player of the Year again in the 2004–05 season. Shannon won the Intercollegiate Singles Championship in 2004, and her Nebraska team won two NCAA Bowling Championships (2004 and 2005).

Career accomplishments and accolades under Team USA

* One gold medal (trios), one silver medal (team) and three bronze medals (singles, doubles, all-events) at 2018 PABCON Women's Championships * Bronze medal at 2016 World Bowling Singles Championships * Two gold medals (trios, Masters) at 2016 PABCON Women's Championships * One gold medal (doubles) at the 2016 PABCON Champion of Champions * One gold medal (team) at 2015 World Bowling Women's Championships * One gold medal (singles) and one silver medal (doubles) at

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

* One gold medal (team) at 2014 PABCON Championships * Four gold medals at 2011 World Championships (doubles, trios, team, Masters) * 2002 and 2004

AMF World Cup The QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, previously known as the International Masters and AMF Bowling World Cup, is an annual Ten-pin bowling championship sponsored by QubicaAMF Worldwide, and the largest in bowling in terms of number of participating n ...

champion

Professional career

Pluhowsky has two PWBA titles, both majors. She won the 2006

, which occurred during the PWBA Tour's hiatus (2004 to 2014), but was retroactively credited as a PWBA title. Following her best finish at a major in several years (third at the 2021 U.S. Open), Shannon won the season-ending PWBA Tour Championship on October 31, 2021 for her second PWBA Tour title and second major. The tournament, which awarded a $50,000 first prize, was contested at the site of Pluhowsky's first major championship: the

National Bowling Stadium The National Bowling Stadium is a ten-pin bowling stadium in Reno, Nevada. The stadium is recognizable for an aluminum geodesic dome in its facade, built to resemble a large bowling ball. Nicknamed the "Taj Mahal of tenpins", the 78-lane stadi ...

. Looking to repeat as champion in the 2022 PWBA Tour Championship, Pluhowsky qualified as the #1 seed but was defeated in the championship match by #3 seed

Stephanie Zavala Stephanie Zavala (born May 29, 1996) is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler from Downey, California, known for winning the 2022 PWBA Tour Championship. She bowls professionally on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (P ...

. Her other professional titles came in the

PBA Women's Series The PBA Women's Series was a mini-tour for female professional bowlers. It was started in 2007 as a way to bring women's bowling back to television after the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) disbanded in 2003. Sponsored by the United ...

, which ran from 2007 to 2010, and at the 2014 BPAA Women's All-Star.

List of professional titles

Major championships are in bold type. # 2006 USBC Queens (

)
# 2007 Etonic Championship (

Cheektowaga, New York Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...

)
# 2009 Chameleon Championship (

Allen Park, Michigan Allen Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 28,638. Ford Motor Company is an integral part of the community. Many of the company's offices and facilities lie within the city limit ...

)
# 2009 Scorpion Championship (Allen Park, Michigan)
# 2014 BPAA Women's All-Star (

)
# 2021 PWBA Tour Championship (Reno, Nevada)

Other Career Accomplishments

Pluhowsky earned the

United States Bowling Congress The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is a sports membership organization dedicated to ten-pin bowling in the United States. It was formed in 2005 by a merger of the American Bowling Congress—the original codifier of all tenpin bowling stand ...

National High Average and High Series Awards for the 2017–2018 season as she set the record for the highest average for a season by a woman. She posted a 250.7 average over 71 games during the Inland Owls league at Capri Lanes in

Kettering, Ohio Kettering is a city in Montgomery county in the U.S. state of Ohio. Almost entirely in Montgomery County, it is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 57,862 (down slightly from 58,453 in 2010), maki ...

. Pluhowsky was also: *Inducted into the World Bowling Writers Hall of Fame in 2012 * 2011 World Bowling Writers Bowler of the Year * 2011 and 2015 Team USA Trials champion * Three-time USBC Women's Championships titlist (2007 Classic Team, 2011 Scratch Singles, 2015 Diamond Team) * 2000-01 and 2004-05 Collegiate Player of the Year * 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2004–05 Collegiate All-America first team * U.S. Amateur champion in 2001, 2003 and 2004 * 2002 and 2004 World Bowling Writers Female Player of the Year * 1999, 2000 and 2001 USBC Junior Gold Championships winner

Personal

Pluhowsky is married to massage therapist Carrie (Bland) Pluhowsky as of July, 2021. Shannon and Carrie each have children from previous relationships.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pluhowsky, Shannon 1982 births American ten-pin bowling players People from Dayton, Ohio University of Nebraska alumni Living people Pan American Games medalists in bowling Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Bowlers at the 2003 Pan American Games Bowlers at the 2015 Pan American Games Bowlers at the 2019 Pan American Games Competitors at the 2001 World Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games