San Diego Roundup : Los Angeles Club Is Set to Defend Championship in Mission Beach Rugby

The Los Angeles Rugby Club will try to defend its title in the 15th Annual Old Mission Beach Athletic Club invitational Saturday and Sunday at Robb Field in Ocean Beach.

The Los Angeles club will compete against 12 university and 32 club teams, including the 1985 national champion Milwaukee Club. Clubs from Canada, New York and Baltimore are also scheduled to participate. San Diego State is the favorite in the collegiate division.

Matches begin at 7 a.m. Saturday and continue until dusk on five fields. The championship match will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Two of San Diego’s top welterweights, Richard Aguirre and David Gutierrez, will fight at the El Cortez Convention Center on Thursday night.

Aguirre (13-0) will fight Noe Ramirez (11-6) of Seattle in the scheduled 10-round main event. Aguirre, who has 11 knockouts, scored a first-round knockout over Vince Dunfee of Butte, Mont. in his last fight.

Gutierrez (12-0) faces Roberto Collins (29-11-1) of Los Angeles in the scheduled eight-round semi-main event.

Also on the five-bout card, San Diego heavyweight Domenic Parker (5-0) will fight Marvin Blaine (4-0) of Las Vegas. First fight is at 7 p.m. The doors open at 5.

Saturday is the last day to register for special training clinics for high school and youth coaches. The clinics, which will be held Feb. 22, March 1 and March 8, combine injury prevention and courses required by the state for walk-on coaches. They also will discuss recognition of alcohol and drug use.

The clinics will be held at Bay Hospital in Chula Vista, Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa and Physicians’ Sports Med Center in Escondido. For more information and registration forms call the National Injury Prevention Foundation office at 480-8200.

The Hotel del Coronado will host a celebrity benefit dinner Wednesday in honor of Coronado being named an official Sail America community. The dinner will help raise funds for Sail America, which is attempting to regain the America’s Cup.

Celebrities planning to attend include actress Abby Dalton of “Falcon Crest,” gold-medal gymnast Mitch Gaylord and actor Gregory Harrison of “Trapper John, M.D.” Tickets are available to the public, and may be purchased by calling 232-7181.