| Shannon Pluhowsky | |
| Birth Date: | August 8, 1982 |
| Birth Place: | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Country: |  United States |
| Sport: | Bowling |
| Affiliation: | PWBA, Team USA |
| Rookieyear: | 2001 |
| Hand: | Left |
| Championships: | 4 PWBA (2 majors) 3 PBA Women's Series 1 other (major) |
| Sponsors: | Hammer Bowling, Turbo Grips, Kameleon Sportswear |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
| Medaltemplates: | [1] [2] [3] [4] |
Shannon Pluhowsky (born August 8, 1982) is an American left-handed ten-pin bowler who competes in the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) and internationally. Pluhowsky is a 22-time member of Team USA (2001–2021, 2024),[5] and a former four-time member of Junior Team USA (2000–2003). Pluhowsky has eight professional championships, including major wins at the 2006 USBC Queens in Reno, Nevada, the 2014 BPAA Women's All-Star in Rockford, Illinois, and the 2021 PWBA Tour Championship in Reno, Nevada.
Pluhowsky was born on August 8, 1982, in Phoenix, Arizona. Before her successful professional career she had a successful amateur and college career.[6] 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 under coach Bill Straub who is credited for Pluhowsky's impeccable left-handed form.[7] She sports a big push-away and a straight and loose swing with a textbook finishing position.[8] 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).
Pluhowsky has won four PWBA titles, two of them majors. She won the 2006 USBC Queens, 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 in Reno, Nevada.[9]
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.[10]
On May 4, 2024, Pluhowsky won the PWBA GoBowling! Twin Cities Open in Eagan, Minnesota. Having qualified as the #1 seed, she beat #5 seed Verity Crawley in the final match to earn her third PWBA Tour title.[11] On June 4, Pluhowsky won her fourth PWBA Tour title, and second of the 2024 season, at the PWBA Music City Classic in Smyrna, Tennessee.[12] Pluhowsky finished the 2024 PWBA Tour season second in average, third in points and third in earnings.[13]
Pluhowsky's other professional titles came in the PBA Women's Series, which ran from 2007 to 2010, and at the 2014 BPAA Women's All-Star.[6]
Major championships are in bold type.
Pluhowsky earned the United States Bowling Congress 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.[14] She posted a 250.7 average over 71 games during the Inland Owls league at Capri Lanes in Kettering, Ohio.[14] Pluhowsky was also:
Pluhowsky is married to massage therapist Carrie (Bland) Pluhowsky as of July 2021. Shannon and Carrie each have children from previous relationships.[15] [16]