NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The WKU men's tennis team improved to a perfect 26-0 all-time against Tennessee State, winning 6-1 over the Tigers on Thursday in Nashville, Tenn.

The win gives the Hilltoppers three in a row, marking the team's first three-match win streak since the 2010 season. WKU (5-6) has now won five of its last six after opening the season with an 0-5 record.

The Hilltoppers swept the doubles portion of the match on Thursday and won at five of the six singles positions, giving WKU its third-straight 6-1 final.

Junior Lance Freeman picked up his 27th career singles win and his third career win from the No. 2 singles position. Freeman took down Shaun Ingram of Tennessee State in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0, giving Freeman an above .500 career record in four of the six singles positions. Freeman also teamed with senior Craig Kirchgessner to pick up a win from the No. 1 doubles spot. The win was the third of the season for the duo and moved Freeman to 7-3 this season in doubles play.

Kirchgessner picked one of the two Hilltoppers shut out wins in singles play, winning 6-0, 6-0 over Jared Asher from the No. 4 singles spot. The win from No. 4 was the first of Kirchgessner's career.

Senior Alex Witzgall picked up the second shutout of the night, winning over James Shelton from the No. 5 position in the lineup. The win was the first of the season for Witzgall, who improves to 4-2 in his career at WKU.

The youth on the Hilltopper roster continued to provide a spark on Thursday as freshmen Andrew Fish and Brody Freeman each picked up wins, with Fish picking up his team-leading sixth singles win of the season, while Freeman improved to 7-2 in doubles play with a win from the No. 2 doubles spot with teammate Kaleb Ball. The doubles pairing was the first of the season for Freeman and Ball, as Ball picked up his third doubles win this year.

The WKU newcomers have now combined for 15 of the Hilltoppers' 31 singles wins this season, with six of those wins coming from Josh Smith at the top singles spot for WKU.

The Hilltoppers will look to extend their current win streak on Sunday as they travel to Louisville, Ky., to take on Bellarmine. WKU has won 18-straight over the Knights dating back to the 1962 season.

RESULTS

Western Kentucky 6, Tennessee State 1
Mar 29, 2012 at Nashville, Tenn.

Singles competition
1. WASHINGTON, Lawrence (TSU) def. Arul Selvan (WKU) 7-5, 6-0
2. Lance Freeman (WKU) def. INGRAM, Shaun (TSU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Andrew Fish (WKU) def. SIMMONS, William (TSU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Craig Kirchgessner (WKU) def. ASHER, Jared (TSU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Alex Witzgall (WKU) def. SHELTON, James (TSU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Brody Freeman (WKU) def. No player (TSU), by default

Doubles competition
1. Craig Kirchgessner/Lance Freeman (WKU) def. WASHINGTON, Lawrence/INGRAM, Shaun (TSU) 8-4
2. Kaleb Ball/Brody Freeman (WKU) def. SIMMONS, William/ASHER, Jared (TSU) 8-1
3. Alex Witzgall/Arul Selvan (WKU) def. No player/No player (TSU), by default