Harvard's Nayar Wins U.S. Squash Crown

Harvard squash captain Anil Nayar defeated a former Yale great yesterday to win the U.S. National Squash Championship.

He is the first collegiate athlete to win the championship since Harvard's Germain S. Glidden took the title in 1936.

The already legendary Nayar, who is perhaps the best individual performer in any sport Harvard has ever had, climaxed a perfect season with a narrow 3-2 victory over Sam Howe in the finals.

Close Game

After winning the first game 15-11, Nayar lost his fourth game of the season, 13-15, but came back strong in the third to win, 15-5. Howe eked out a 15-14 victory in the fourth game, but Nayar persevered for a 15-13 win in the deciding game.

The victory is one of a long string of title victories for the talented Nayar, whom Harvard coach John Barnaby has called "one of the half-dozen best collegiate squash players of all time." Nayar has won the Indian National Men's Championship, the Canadian National Championship, and the National Intercollegiate Championship--twice.

In addition, he has paced the Harvard squash team for three years at number one, compiling a career record of 33-1 in the process.

Intercollegiate Favorite

Nayar is favored to continue his winning ways at this year's Intercollegiate Championships at Yale next month. If he wins the title again, he will become the second player in the tournament's history to capture the honor tree years in a row.

A native of Bombay, India, Nayar grew up next door to the Cricket Club of India, where he taught himself to play squash while in secondary school. After receiving instruction, he broke precedent by entering the Indian Junior and Men's championships, simultaneously--and winning them both.

Late Application

Although he had planned to attend Cambridge University in England, Nayar applied to Harvard when he learned that entrance requirements would delay his entrance to Cambridge for a year. He submitted his application in June, 1965, and was accepted in July.