In one breath, Maria Herraez Galvez may bluntly tell you what's on her mind with no regard for political correctness.

Then she may use the next breath to make sure everything is OK with you without taking no for an answer.

There are many layers to the lone senior on the Cal women's golf team, and she is ready to put them all on display as she embarks on her final spring season as a Golden Bear. Cal begins the spring Sunday in the IJGA Collegiate Invitational at the Guadalajara Country Club in Mexico.

"She's very complicated," teammate and fellow Spaniard Elena Arias said. "She knows what she likes, and when she doesn't like something, it's done for her. And she's very straightforward with people. If she has something to tell you, she's going to tell you.

"But she's also a very, very caring person. If I get sick, she's texting me, calling me. I got injured last semester, and she's asking me if she can take me to the doctor, always calling me, bringing me whatever I need. She's really inspiring to have around."

Galvez arrived at Cal in 2016 with the reputation as a fiery competitor and extensive experience with the Spanish National Team. She is nearing the end of her collegiate career as the only senior left in the program after former teammate Jiyoon Jang decided to leave the team after her sophomore season.

Along the way, the physics major has negotiated obstacles and setbacks, molding herself into a significantly different person than the one that first stepped foot on campus.

"She's had some heartbreaks while she's been here, and she's supposed to play golf and be a physics major," Cal head coach Nancy McDaniel said. "But I think she's in a really good place right now."

Galvez called herself a perfectionist when she began college, but it didn't take long for her to realize that didn't necessarily equate to happiness. Although she succeeded in the classroom and on the course as a freshman, she returned to Madrid following her freshman year miserable. After what she labeled a "summer of thought," she returned to Berkeley with a fresh set of priorities.

"I had a rough freshman year," Galvez said. "I was really struggling because I really wanted to be happy and fulfill all my personal needs, but that was going to take extra effort. When I got back, I explored campus a little more. I started taking a little more care of myself. Each day takes a different thing to get you to the right place."

Galvez's emotional fortunes improved – she allowed herself to take hikes or go shopping now and then - but the unthinkable happened in September of her junior year when she learned her Spanish National Team teammate, Celia Barquin Arozamena of Iowa State, was murdered on a golf course in an unspeakable tragedy that rocked the golf community.

Galvez was understandably devastated, and the grieving process was extensive. The Bears' first competition after Arozamena's death was the inaugural Big Match against Stanford, and Galvez said she felt like crying after every shot.

But Cal's victory over Stanford did something for Galvez – it served as an example of how she could honor her fallen teammate. Equipped with a ball marker engraved with Arozamena's initials, Galvez made the decision to continue to play in honor of her friend.

"For the first couple of months after Celia died, I could not play golf freely," Galvez said. "When we beat Stanford, I thought that this is something I'm going to use to honor her and give back to her. I was playing for her."

As time passed and Galvez played in honor of Arozamena with her ball marker always in hand, healing took place. But just as Galvez was getting over one setback, another appeared when her aunt, Blandine Dervaux, passed away. After returning from a road trip to Cal Poly in February, Galvez received a phone call from her mom, Maria Galvez, with the news.

"I was just recovering from one thing when the other came," Galvez said. "So I just had a rough time. But I think what it has taught me the most is to really know who's good for me – who I need in those times."

Arias and Galvez have been there for each other in the two years they have been Cal teammates. Before letting her daughter know about her aunt, Galvez's mom called Arias and asked if she could go to Maria's apartment and be there when she delivered the news.

"It was really nice to see how happy and thankful she was that I was there," Arias said. "Obviously, it was the least I could do. I was just trying to make her feel better."

Galvez, who skews toward keeping things private and personal, didn't share much with her team as she weathered her tough junior year. But her relationship with Arias predates their time in Berkeley together, giving her a trusted shoulder on which to lean.

"I do know at first I chose not to talk to my teammates about it," Galvez said. "It was just something I couldn't deal with right then. But I did have Elena, and she was going through it also because Celia was her friend as well. She has been a great support to me."

Galvez said she ultimately overcame her personal pain by helping others going through similar journeys. She was there for Arias, for the Spanish golf community, for her cousins back in Madrid – and that focus on living and playing for something bigger than herself is what finally got her over that last hurdle of grief.

"I took a lot of positives from those hard moments," Galvez said. "Playing golf is amazing, but playing for a bigger cause is even better. There were moments when I didn't want to move forward. But that wasn't the solution. There are people out there that need me more than I need them."

McDaniel noticed a re-enthused Galvez when she returned in the fall for her senior season. She has taken on a motherly role for her teammates and hopes to lead the way in rebounding from a lackluster fall to take the Bears to what would be a 21st consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.

"Mery's been here at a time where the team has had some significant setbacks," McDaniel said. "Her heart definitely has some scars on it, but I feel like by the end of spring last year, things had settled in her heart."