The William & Mary swimming teams, fresh off of their annual training trip in Florida, return to competition this weekend with a tri-meet Saturday at Duke.  The Tribe will take on the Blue Devils, who are ranked No. 20 in the nation in women's swimming, as well as Division II powerhouse Queens University, who are currently ranked No. 1 in women's swimming and No. 2 in men's swimming.  Action at Duke's Taishoff Pavilion will begin at 1 p.m., and can be followed via live results online at TribeAthletics.com or on the Meet Mobile app.

Scouting the Tribe Men
The W&M men are 5-2 (3-0 CAA) on the year, and most recently finished second out of six teams at the Northwestern TYR Invitational in mid-November, behind only the host Wildcats.  The Tribe lead the CAA in 10 events, with junior Chris Balbo (Short Hills, N.J.) turning in the league's best times so far in the 500 free, 1000 free, 1650 free, and the 400 IM, while his classmate Colin Wright (Williamsburg, Va.) is tops in the 50 free and 100 free.  Fellow juniors Ian Thompson (Alexandria, Va.), in the 50 fly, and Ben Skopic (Marriottsville, Md.), in the 100 IM, also lead the league with Skopic's time of 51.24 marking a school record as well.  W&M also has the top time of the season so far in the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay.  With four dual meets and the CAA Championships still to come, Wright leads W&M with 220 points and 13 wins, while Balbo is close behind with 214 points and 15 victories.  The two are tied with 40 wins each in their careers.

Scouting the Tribe Women
On the women's side, W&M is 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the CAA, and also finished second at the TYR Invitational after a strong showing over the final day of competition.  The Tribe are leading the CAA in nine events so far this season, including in the 500 free and the 1,000 free where sophomore Megan Bull (Hillsborough, N.J.) has the best times in the conference.  Freshman Ellie Henry (Southern Pines, N.C.) ranks first in the 100 IM and 50 breast, while seniors Morgan Smith (Verona, N.J.), Katie Sell (Fredericksburg, Va.), and Maria Oceguera (New Rochelle, N.Y.) have the conference's top time in the 400 IM, 50 fly, and the 200 fly, respectively.  The Tribe also leads the CAA in both the 200 free relay and the 800 free relay.  With four dual-meets and the CAA Championships still ahead, Bull leads the team in both points and wins, at 220.25 with 10 victories, while freshman Anna Kenna (Chantilly, Va.) has seven wins in the backstroke events.

Scouting the Blue Devils
The host Duke is swimming in only its third dual-meet of the season, after spending much of the fall in a succession of invitationals.  The No. 20-ranked Duke women are 1-1 overall and in the ACC with a win over Virginia Tech and loss to N.C. State, while the men are 0-2 with losses to both teams.  Sprinter Alyssa March leads the talented Blue Devil women, ranking fourth in the ACC in both the 50 and the 100 free as well as second in the 100 back and third in the 100 fly, and is a big reason why Duke ranks third in all three freestyle relays.  On the men's side, Miles Williams ranks top-10 in the ACC in the 50 free, 100 free, and the 200 free.

Scouting the Royals
Queens University are Division II royalty, sweeping the NCAA Championships for both men and women each of the last four years.  So far in the 2018-19, the Royals women are 4-0 and the men 3-1, and will face Catawba College on Friday night before Saturday's tri-meet.  The women lead Division II in six events, with Polina Lapshina leading the way in the 100 free and 100 fly while Francesca Bains is tops in the 500 free and the 1,650 free.  Bobbie Gichard (200 back) and Josefina Lorda-Taylor (200 fly) also have nation-best times.  On the men's side, NCAA record-holder Marius Kusch has the nation's-best time in both the 100 fly and the 200 IM while ranking second in the 200 fly and fifth in the 100 free, and Dmytro Sydorchenko ranks fifth nationally in the 50 free.

The Series
- This the first time that W&M has ever faced Queens, who first began swimming in 2010-11.
- The Tribe and the Blue Devils men are meeting for the 29th time, dating back to February of 1932.  W&M is 7-21 in the series, with its last win coming in 2002, head coach Matt Crispino's senior season.
- The W&M women are 4-14 against Duke, dating back to January of 1976.  The last win for the Tribe was in 2000 in Williamsburg.