Daniela Jentsch, previously known as Daniela Driendl, is the skip of the German National Women's Curling Team.
Career
Jentsch played in her first international competition in 1997 at the 1997 World Junior Curling Championships, as third for Natalie Nessler. There, the team finished in 8th place with a 2-7 record. She has skipped the German women's junior team to two "B" level gold medalsin 2001 and 2002. At the "A" level, she finished 10th in 2001 and 5th in 2002, just missing the playoffs. When she was just 18, Jentsch participated in her first World Women's Curling Championship at the 2000 Ford World Women's Curling Championship in Glasgow, Scotland, playing third for Petra Tschetsch. There, the team finished the round robin with a 4-5 record, missing the playoffs. Her first European Curling Championships was in 2002 at the 2002 European Curling Championships. There, Jentsch skipped the German team to a 5-4 round robin record, just missing the playoffs. She returned to the Euros two years later at the 2004 European Curling Championships but finished in ninth place with a 3-6 record. Jentsch played third for her father at the 2006 European Mixed Curling Championships where they finished 10th. Jentsch did not return to any international competitions for nine years before playing in the 2015 World Women's Curling Championship. Her team did not play in the European Championships that season, the Andrea Schöpp rink did. But Jentsch's rink were the ones that represented Germany at the Worlds. Her team of Analena Jentsch, Stella Heiß and Pia-Lisa Schöll beat top teams Sweden and United States before losing their last five games to finish with a record of 4-7. Jentsch did play in the 2015 European Curling Championships as skip for the German team. The team missed the playoffs with a 4-5 record but did qualify their country for the 2016 World Championship. The team struggled during the week, finishing the round robin in 10th place with a 3-8 record. The next season, Jentsch would win her first World Curling Tour event, the Latvia International Challenger. At the 2016 Euros, the German team finished 4-5 again which was once again enough to qualify for the 2017 Worlds. The team would have their best World Championship so far. Sitting at 5-4 with two games left, the Germans had a chance to qualify for the playoffs. Unfortunately, they would lose their last two games to Scotland and Czech Republic, ending their chance to reach the playoffs. That season, the German team was met with disappointment. They tried to qualify for the Olympic Games, at the 2018 Winter Olympic qualification event, but they finished with a record of 2-4, missing the playoffs. The next season, the team once again qualified for the Worlds after going 3-6 at the Euros. But like in 2016, the team struggled at the World Championship, finishing in 12th with a 3-9 record. The following season, the German team would have success at the Europeans. Jentsch reached the playoffs for the first time in her career with a 5-4 record. In the semi-final, Jentsch curled 67% which would not be good enough to beat the Swiss team as they lost 6-4. In the Bronze Medal Game though, the Germans turned things around. Jentsch curled a high 87% game en route to winning the Bronze Medal against Russia's Alina Kovaleva. It was her first medal at an international competition. Jentsch also won her second tour event this season. Two months after the Europeans, the team won the Qinghai Curling Elite. At the Worlds, her team of Emira Abbes, Klara-Hermine Fomm and Analena Jentsch were sitting at 4-6 after their tenth game with two still to go. The team had another chance to clinch a playoff spot. But once again they lost their next game eliminating them from contention. The team did have a good final game though, beating eventual winners Switzerland 10–8 after scoring four in the last end. Team Jentsch's first event of the 2019–20 season was at the 2019 Cargill Curling Training Centre Icebreaker where they lost in the quarterfinals. They had semifinal finishes at the 2019 Cameron's Brewing Oakville Fall Classic and Prestige Hotels & Resorts Curling Classic and "C Qualifier" finishes at the 2019 Curlers Corner Autumn Gold Curling Classic and 2019 Canad Inns Women's Classic. The German team also qualified for their first Grand Slam of Curling event, the 2019 Tour Challenge Tier 2 where they went 1–3, missing the playoffs. At the 2019 European Curling Championships, the team did not qualify for the playoffs like in 2018, finishing the round-robin in 5th place with a 5–4 record. The team was set to represent Germany at the 2020 World Women's Curling Championship before the event got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personal life
Jentsch is employed as a soldier athlete. She has two children. Her sister, Analena Jentsch is the lead on her team. Their father, Roland Jentsch is well-known German curler too, he was European men's champion in. Daniela posed nude in the 2006 Ana Arce Team sponsorship calendar along with curlers Melanie Robillard, Lynsay Ryan, Kasia Selwand and Claudia Toth.
