It took eight years, but Nancy McDaniel and the Cal women's golf team finally will get its chance again at Ruby Hill Golf Club in Pleasanton.

In 2005, the Bears hosted the Pac-10 championships at Ruby Hill and finished what McDaniel called a disappointing fifth place. Cal hasn't hosted a tournament since.

That will change this week when Ruby Hill will once again serve as the host site for a Cal tournament, this time the Cal Classic on Monday and Tuesday.

"We had a great team in 2005 and finished fifth. It was really disappointing, actually," McDaniel said. "To be able to host a tournament again means a lot to the program - to be able to give back to all of the tournaments that we participate in every year, that means a lot to us. Ruby Hill is a great facility."

Eleven teams will compete in the Cal Classic - including fellow Pac-12 teams Arizona State, Stanford and Oregon State. The field also includes Coastal Carolina, Fresno State, San Diego State, San Jose State, UC Davis, USF and UNLV. Ruby Hill features a par-72, 6,203-yard course.

McDaniel said it's a challenge hosting a tournament, particularly in finding a course that is available and determining dates that work for enough schools to field an event.

"This year, everything aligned and we're here," McDaniel said.

The Bears won their second-ever Pac-12 Championship last year and have two golfers returning from that squad  - senior Jacqueline Williams and junior Nicola Rossler. Cal opened the spring season last weekend at the Peg Barnard Invitational at Stanford and finished second out of 13 teams. That included beating out two top-10 teams in the process.

Sophomore Morgan Thompson finished fourth individually last weekend, shooting a 1-under 141 for the two-day event.

Cal features two freshmen in its lineup with local ties that have played Ruby Hill in the past - Hannah Suh of San Jose and Carly Childs of Alameda.

"We feel like we're climbing the ladder right now," McDaniel said. "It's a nice place to be. This is a team to watch out for. They're not in the limelight at all at this moment, but this is a team to kind of track."