Take one look at Keith Gavin and it is easy to see why he refers to the 174-pound weight class as "brutal."

Gavin entered his NCAA Division I semifinal with nine stitches in his mouth, then suffered a cut on his forehead midway the match. But not even that could keep the Pitt senior from earning a second consecutive berth in the NCAA finals, as he posted a 3-2 win against Iowa's Jay Borschel in the semifinals.

Gavin, will face No. 2 seed Steve Luke (29-2) of Michigan in the title match tonight.

Gavin (26-0), one of only four remaining unbeaten wrestlers in the country, has a chance to become Pitt's first undefeated wrestler since Pat Santoro went 48-0 during the 1987-88 season.

"Keith faced Luke in the finals of the Las Vegas Invitational and beat him in double overtime," Pitt coach Rande Stottlemyer said. "It was a bloody match that lasted 27 minutes. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same kind of match tomorrow."

Oklahoma State's Coleman Scott and Penn State's Phil Davis also earned a return trip to the finals.

Scott (32-4), a graduate of Waynesburg High School, advanced to the 133-pound final for the second consecutive year.

Scott's opponent in the title match is Iowa's Joey Slaton (36-4). Slaton earned his title berth with a 3-1 overtime win against Michigan State's Franklin Gomez.

Davis (25-1) advanced to the 197-pound final for the second time in three years with a 6-0 shutout against Wisconsin's Dallas Herbst in the semifinals.

Davis, a four-time All-American, will face Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan in the title match. Michalak (30-1) upset top seed and defending champion Josh Glenn (18-1) of American.

Davis will be joined in the finals by Nittany Lions teammate Bubba Jenkins, who advanced to the 149-pound final with a 12-8 win against North Carolina's Darrion Caldwell (29-4). Jenkins will face top seed Brent Metcalf (38-1) of Iowa in the title match.

Edinboro's Gregor Gillespie (31-2) saw his hopes of a second consecutive title disappear after an 8-6 loss to Cornell's Jordan Leen (25-3), the No. 8 seed, in the quarterfinals. Gillespie, last year's 149-pound champion, was the only No. 1 seed to lose in the quarterfinals. Leen's victory avenged last year's 6-2 loss to Gillespie in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Gillespie rebounded with a 1-0 win against Pitt's Matt Kocher in the fifth round of consolations, thus becoming the sixth wrestler in Edinboro history to earn All-America honors three times. Kocher, a four-time qualifier who placed fifth last year, fell one win short of placing. He concludes the season 23-7.

Penn State's Mark McKnight, a South Fayette graduate, earned All-America status in the 125-pound weight class.