 She was one of twelve children of Frank and Maxine Andrews; her father was a graduate of the U.S.Naval Academy and a former U.S. Navy officer.Andrews first trained in the Navy Junior Program as an age-group swimmer, and then moved to the North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC), attending Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore, Maryland and staying with a succession of five sponsoring local families during her final two years of high school.