Associated Press All-America Team Release

La Crosse, Wis. - Three members of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team have been named to the 2023 Associated Press (AP) All-America Team, the organization announced Friday. Senior offensive tackle Mike Bertoia of Lake Zurich, Ill. (H.S.) and sophomore placekicker Michael Stack of Oshkosh (West) were voted to the AP All-America First Team while senior wide receiver Jack Studer of Eyota, Minn. (Dover-Eyota) was named to the AP All-America Second Team.  

It is Bertoia's third All-America First Team honor this season after being named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and D3football.com All-America Team. Stack and Studer earned their second All-America award this year. Stack was selected to the D3football.com All-America First Team and Studer was voted to the D3football.com All-America Second Team. 

All three players were selected to the 2023 D3football.com All-Region First Team and to the All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) First Team. 
 

Bertoia started all 13 games this season at right tackle. It marked his third straight selection to the All-WIAC First Team. Bertoia allowed one sack this season. He helped UWL average 39.3 points per game in 2023, second in the WIAC.  The Eagles averaged 473.9 yards per game this year, including 190.6 rushing and 283.3 passing.  UWL set season-single school records in scoring (511 points), total offense (6,161 yards), passing yards (3,683) and touchdowns (43) and first downs (300).  The team's 2,478 rushing yards ranks fourth in school history.  

It marks Bertoia second D3football.com All-America accolade after being named to the second team in 2022. 

UWL had a season-high 579 yards in a 56-35 win over Aurora University (Ill.) in the NCAA Division III Second Round on November 25. The team had a season-high 275 yards rushing a 31-28 win versus UW-Oshkosh on October 21 and season-high 387 yards passing against UW-Eau Claire in a 59-14 victory on October 28. This year's average of 473.9 yards of offense are the most since finishing with 474.8 in 2016. 

The Eagles led the WIAC in offensive efficiency (194.9), first downs (300), fourth-down conversions (60.0%) and time of possession (34:23) while ranking second in total offense (473.9) and third in rushing offense (190.6) and red-zone offense (86.2%).  
 
Stack went 13-of-15 in field goal attempts and 65-of-65 in extra-points during the season. He converted his first career field goal attempt in UWL's 31-6 victory at Dakota State University (S.D.) on August 31, converting a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter. He had four different games with at least two field goals made.

One of 10 finalists for the 2023 Fred Mitchell Award, presented to the top placekicker for excellence on the football field and community service, Stack tied the single-season school record of 13 field goals by Chris Schumacher in 1989.  Stack's 65 extra-points broke Ryan Beirne's single-season record of 49 in 2021. 

Named the 2023 WIAC Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in a vote by the league coaches, Stack was selected the WIAC Special Teams Player of the Week four times this season.  He finished three-of-three in field goals and four-of-four in extra-points in UWL's 37-34 victory at third-ranked UW-Whitewater on October 7. He converted the game-winning 51-yard field goal on the final play of the game, tying a school record.   
 

Studer led UWL with 70 catches for 1,567 yards (22.4 average) and 15 touchdowns. He recorded eight games with at least 100-yards receiving with career-highs in receptions (10) and yards (204) in a 55-42 loss to top-ranked North Central College (Ill.) in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals on December 2. Studer also caught two touchdown passes. He finished with five receptions for 170 yards and three touchdowns in UWL's 45-40 win against UW-Stout on September 30. The three touchdowns set a single-game career-high.  

His 1,567 receiving yards set a single-season school record, breaking Nick Holcomb's mark of 1,401 yards in 2017. Studer's 15 touchdown receptions ranks second in single-season UWL history. Holcomb finished with a school record 20 in 2017.  

UWL finished 11-2 overall and 7-0 in the WIAC this season under head coach Matt Janus, earning UWL's first outright league title since 2004. It was the Eagles' 35th overall title in school history and second straight under Janus. UWL, ranked fourth on the final regular-season AFCA and D3football.com Top-25 Polls, advanced to the 2023 NCAA Division III Championships Quarterfinals for the first time since 1996. The 11 wins this year were the most since finishing 11-2 in 1996. 

The 2023 WIAC Coach of the Year, Janus is 29-7 as head coach after being named UWL's 14th head football coach on February 5, 2020.  A native of Lake Zurich, Illinois, Janus has led UWL to three straight trips to the NCAA Division III Championships.