BERKELEY – The Cal women's golf team commences the 2019-20 season this week at the Cougar Cup at the Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman, Wash.

The Bears will be joined by 14 other teams for the 54-hole tournament that runs Monday and Tuesday. The first 36 holes will be played Monday with the final round taking place on Tuesday.

Cal returns sophomore rising stars Katherine Zhu and Elena Arias from last year's squad that advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the 20^th consecutive year. The Bears also feature veteran contributors Maria Herraez Galvez and Sofia Lundell, along with a crop of talented newcomers.

Zhu had one of the top freshman seasons in program history last year, recording the lowest scoring average ever for a Cal freshman at 73.58. She registered five top-10 finishes and had a streak of nine consecutive top-25 finishes.

Arias, meanwhile, finished right behind Zhu with the second-lowest scoring average for a Cal freshman at 74.0. She also was the Bears' top finisher at the NCAA Auburn Regional with a 221 (+5), which was 28^th overall.

The Bears should get an immediate boost from their infusion of new student-athletes. Freshman Tzu-Yi Chang comes to Cal after a decorated junior career in Taiwan. She won the 2018 IMG Junior World Championship by four strokes and was the youngest player ever to be chosen to compete for the Taiwan National Team at Symetra Tour events. Chang also won the 2016 Calaveras Junior Open by five strokes and was the low amateur at the 2016 TLPGA Open and 2018 Royal Open.

Kristine Tran of San Jose should also contribute immediately after winning multiple tournaments as a junior. Among her accomplishments are the JGANC Sacramento City Junior Championship, the JGANC Tokay Junior Championship, the JGANC San Jose Junior Championship and the AJGA Coca-Cola Junior Championship. Tran also competed in the USGA U.S. Junior Qualifier and Junior World Championships.

Among the 15-team field are No. 20 Oregon, No. 25 Washington and four other schools that received votes in the preseason WGCA preseason poll. The shotgun start begins Monday at 8 a.m. PT.