At the 2012 Short Course World Championships, Romano won four medals: two gold, one silver, and one bronze. On the first day, Romano led off the relay and had a split of 1:56.03 in the 4×200 free relay. Along with teammates Chelsea Chenault, Shannon Vreeland, and Allison Schmitt, they won with a time of 7:39.25. Romano earned her first individual medal with a silver in the 100-meter free on the third day of competition, finishing behind Germany's Britta Steffen with a 52.48. Later, she anchored the 4×100 medley relay to a bronze-medal-winning 3:51.43 with the fastest split in the field of 51.90. In Romano's last event, she led off the relay with a split of 52.86, and along with Jessica Hardy, Lia Neal, and Allison Schmitt, won the 4×100 free relay in 3:31.01, nearly two seconds ahead of second-place finisher Australia.