In his last moment of collegiate competition. Vie Niederhoffer retained the Foster Cup and his University title yesterday afternoon, beating Bob Hetherington of the Divinity School, 3-2.

After dropping the first two games 8-15, 10-15, the retiring captain surged back to win the next three and the match with scores of 15-12, 15-11, and 15-13. In the fifth game with the score locked at 11-11, Niederhoffer in what he called the "turning point of the match" fell three times to the floor before winning the crucial twelfth point.

Undefeated in collegiate competition this year, Niederhoffer won the Intercollegiates at Dartmouth in early March after losing the national title to Henri Salaun in a heated semifinal match.

Niederhoffer has already announced his decision to retire permanently from squash, and thus will end his career as abruptly as it began in his freshman year the first time he held a squash racket.

Niederhoffer's comeback victory nearly duplicated his performance at the intercollegiate Championships. At that time Niederhoffer, who was odds-on favorite to capture the singles title, dropped the first two games to the Indians' whit Foster.

But the Crimson Captain swept the next three games and went on to win.