New London — The ending was filled with about as much disappointment as possible.

The Coast Guard Academy wrestling team, ranked 14th in the nation, tied No. 5 Johnson & Wales in what was the Bears' first dual meet of the season Wednesday night at Billard Hall — Coast Guard won four straight matches to lead 16-5 — only to lose on criteria 63-58.

Only Coast Guard coach Kevin Bratland, on his walk from the gymnasium to the locker room, decided he wasn't allowing that.

"I squashed that," Bratland said of any lingering sour grapes among his wrestlers. "The No. 1 thing I said was, 'I'm very proud of you guys. You fought your tails off.' That's what we hope to do every day.

"I'm extremely proud of the way we wrestled. I'm very motivated going forward."

The excitement in the room built as AJ Aeberli, an All-American last season for Coast Guard, outwrestled his opponent for a narrow decision at 174 pounds, tying the score at 6-6.

Then Billard got inarguably noisy, as the Bears, ranked second in New England in Division III, began to take control against top-ranked Johnson & Wales, with Coast Guard bidding for its first win over the Wildcats after 22 straight dual meet losses.

Coast Guard's Paul Detwiler got things rolling in Coast Guard's favor at 184. Detwiler won by major decision over Nick Caracappa 18-5, narrowly missing a technical fall on a potential takedown at the buzzer to make the score 10-6.

But as the referee waved off the points, giving the equivalent of baseball's "safe" signal, a Johnson & Wales wrestler ran on to the mat from the sideline and mimicked the official's sign. That constituted a one-point team penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, making it 10-5 and giving the Bears the momentum.

Coast Guard's Jeremy Berson held on to a 4-3 win at 197, lengthening the lead, and by the time 285-pounder Pat Irwin took the mat, the gathered members of the Coast Guard Corps of Cadets sent him into the match with a chorus of cheers and whistles. Irwin won 2-0, making it 16-5.

But Johnson & Wales was able to put together a big finish.

Justin Lopez edged Coast Guard's Parker Brunkala 5-3 in overtime at 125, Hayden Brown gave the Wildcats a major decision at 133, pulling Johnson & Wales within 16-12, and the Wildcats won the final match by major decision at 141, getting a win from Jordan Robinson.

It was the opening dual meet for Coast Guard, which was ranked 10th in the preseason for the highest ranking in program history, led by Aeberli and fellow NCAA qualifiers Irwin (285), Jon Wagner (197) and Detwiler (184).

Johnson & Wales, meanwhile, finished third in Division III last year behind national champion Jay Albis at 125 pounds, but the Wildcats lost six of nine national qualifiers to graduation. They returned Da'Mani Burns at 149, who held the largest numbers of pins in the country last season, plus Mike DiNardo at 285 and Tommy Wrzesian at 197.

"We're very unseasoned," an upbeat Bratland said. "We will get better. I wasn't sure how (the criteria, the total number of points for each team) worked, but it's all semantics, right?

"Environments like this are awesome. We're both really competitive teams. The whole dual was exciting. We put on a show. What's better than to have the support from your peers?"

v.fulkerson@theday.com